Actor and director: Michael Gwisdek is dead

Actor and director Michael Gwisdek has passed away at the age of 78. The Berliner was already a star at the time of the GDR. With movies like “Goodbye Lenin!” or “Oh Boy” became a crowd favorite.

Berlin actor and director Michael Gwisdek died at the age of 78 after a short serious illness. According to the public relations agency Just Publicity, his family announced it.

With movies such as “Bye Lenin!”, “Boxhagener Platz”, “Nachtgestalten” and “Oh Boy”, he was a public favorite. He was also seen often on television: either on “Tatort”, “Bella Block” or “Donna Leon”.

Renowned character actor

In his roles he was comical, melancholic and eccentric, as the Defa Foundation wrote him. In his directing work he convinced “with sophisticated figure drawings”.

Michael Gwisdek and actress Corinna Harfouch were a couple for many years. Son Robert also became an actor, son Johannes a composer. Gwisdek later lived with his wife, the screenwriter and writer Gabriela Gwisdek, in the country outside of Berlin.

Gwisdek was born in 1942, the son of a Berlin-Weißensee innkeeper. He learned to act at the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts. Gwisdek performed in various theaters in the GDR in the 1960s and 1970s. His comedic talents soon earned him film roles. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, his dream of walking the Berlinale red carpet came true. In 1999, Gwisdek received a Silver Bear for best leading actor for “Nachtgestalten” by Andreas Dresen. He has received numerous awards, be it the German Film Award, the German Television Award or the Grimme Award.