Thure Riefenstein
Encyclopedia
Thure Riefenstein is an actor with a German
-Serbia
n background and was born in Ulm
, Baden-Württemberg
, as the youngest of two children.
, and continued studying acting and film in New York
and Los Angeles
and since has been working internationally for cinema, television and theatre in the USA, Canada
, Germany
, Great Britain
, France
, Italy
, Austria
, Czech Republic
, Sweden
, Serbia
, Morocco
and Turkey
.
Important features in leading parts are the most recent US-Canadian feature “Sophie” (director: Leif Bristow) with John Rhys-Davies
and Deborah Kara Unger
. In the “Golden Czech Lion Award
” winning WW2 drama “Dark Blue World
”, he played for director and Academy Award Winner Jan Sverák
and in the action thriller “Hostile Takeover” he worked with director Carl Schenkel. In the US-German feature “Baltic Storm” (Dir.: Reuben Leder) he took a leading part aside Greta Scacchi
, Jürgen Prochnow
, and Donald Sutherland
.
Mr. Riefensteins acclaimed TV-work includes the french period movie “Julie, chevalier de Maupin” (Dir.: Charlotte Brandstroem) , where he starred with Marisa Berenson
, Pierre Arditi
and Gottfried John
and which achieved an 'International Emmy Award' nomination for best foreign film. The TV production series “Kommissarin Lukas, (Detevtive Lukas) with Thure Riefenstein as the male leading detective, achieved the highly acclaimed German “Adolf Grimme Award” nomination” for ‘Best Film’. In the Film “Boseckendorf, the night a village vanished” he was nominated as “Best Lead Male Actor” (Bambi Audience Award 2009 & Quotenmeter Award 2010) and was also semi finalist for the International Emmy Award 2010 in the same category as Best Lead Male Actor, to name a few productions.
Mr. Riefenstein also starred in the international action drama mini-series “Crusaders
” (Dir.: Dominique Othenin Girard) with Armin Mueller-Stahl
and Franco Nero
, the successful feature comedy “666: In Bed with the Devil” (Dir.: Rainer Matsutani), the Canadian film “Criminal Instinct” (Dir.: Brad Turner
) with Victor Garber
or in the science fiction feature “Ainoa” (Dir.: Marko Kalantari).
Riefenstein also has a fundamental experience in theatre which includes plays from Shakespeare
, Bertolt Brecht
, Walter Jens
, Ariane Mnouchkine
or the legendary revue of “The Blue Angel” at repertory theatres in Germany, - comparable to Broadway Shows, - like the "Hamburger Schauspielhaus
", the "Theater des Westens" at Berlin
" or the "Berliner Ensemble
". He worked with European theatre icons, AS for example the directors Peter Zadek
, Jerome Saváry
, Peter Palitzsch or Vlad Mugur
.
He lived in London
to practice in fringe theatres and in New York to work with Kristin Linklater
. His American debut was in the New Yorker production of Jean Genet
’s “The Maids
” for the Berkshire theatre festival
. In Los Angeles he studied acting at the ACI based on Lee Strasberg's and Sandford Meisner’s working techniques.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
-Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
n background and was born in Ulm
Ulm
Ulm is a city in the federal German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the River Danube. The city, whose population is estimated at 120,000 , forms an urban district of its own and is the administrative seat of the Alb-Donau district. Ulm, founded around 850, is rich in history and...
, Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
, as the youngest of two children.
Biography
He graduated as an actor in GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and continued studying acting and film in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and since has been working internationally for cinema, television and theatre in the USA, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
, Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
and Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
.
Important features in leading parts are the most recent US-Canadian feature “Sophie” (director: Leif Bristow) with John Rhys-Davies
John Rhys-Davies
John Rhys-Davies is a Welsh actor and voice actor. He is perhaps best known for playing the charismatic Arab excavator Sallah in the Indiana Jones films and the dwarf Gimli in The Lord of the Rings trilogy...
and Deborah Kara Unger
Deborah Kara Unger
Deborah Kara Unger is a Canadian actress. She is known for her roles in the films Crash , The Game , The Hurricane , White Noise , Silent Hill and 88 Minutes...
. In the “Golden Czech Lion Award
Czech Lion
The Czech Lion awards are annual awards that recognize accomplishments in filmmaking and television. It is the highest award of achievement in film awarded in the Czech Republic...
” winning WW2 drama “Dark Blue World
Dark Blue World
Dark Blue World is a 2001 film by Czech director Jan Svěrák about Czechoslovak pilots who fought for the British Royal Air Force during World War II. The screenplay was written by Zdeněk Svěrák, the father of the director....
”, he played for director and Academy Award Winner Jan Sverák
Jan Sverák
Jan Svěrák is a Czech film director. He is the son of screenwriter and actor Zdeněk Svěrák. He studied documentary filmmaking at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague...
and in the action thriller “Hostile Takeover” he worked with director Carl Schenkel. In the US-German feature “Baltic Storm” (Dir.: Reuben Leder) he took a leading part aside Greta Scacchi
Greta Scacchi
Greta Scacchi is an Italian-Australian actor.-Early life:Scacchi was born Greta Gracco in Milan, Italy, on 18 February 1960, the daughter of Luca Scacchi Gracco, an Italian art dealer and painter, and Pamela Carsaniga, an English dancer and antiques dealer...
, Jürgen Prochnow
Jürgen Prochnow
Jürgen Prochnow is a German actor. His most well-known roles internationally have been as the sympathetic submarine captain in Das Boot , Duke Leto Atreides I in Dune , the minor, but important role of Neo-Stalinist dictator General Ivan Radek in Air Force One and the villain Maxwell Dent in...
, and Donald Sutherland
Donald Sutherland
Donald McNichol Sutherland, OC is a Canadian actor with a film career spanning nearly 50 years. Some of Sutherland's more notable movie roles included offbeat warriors in such war movies as The Dirty Dozen, , MASH , and Kelly's Heroes , as well as in such popular films as Klute, Invasion of the...
.
Mr. Riefensteins acclaimed TV-work includes the french period movie “Julie, chevalier de Maupin” (Dir.: Charlotte Brandstroem) , where he starred with Marisa Berenson
Marisa Berenson
Vittoria Marisa Schiaparelli Berenson is an American actress and model.-Early life:She is the elder daughter of Robert L. Berenson, an American diplomat turned shipping executive, who was of Lithuanian Jewish descent; his family's original surname was Valvrojenski...
, Pierre Arditi
Pierre Arditi
Pierre Arditi was born on 1 December 1944 in Paris, child of the French paintor Georges Arditi , from Marseille, and a Belgian mother. He is an award-winning French film and stage actor...
and Gottfried John
Gottfried John
-Life and work:During the 1970s and early 1980s, Gottfried John played various roles in films by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, notably that of Reinhold in the epic Berlin Alexanderplatz . He is internationally known for his portrayals of General Ourumov in the James Bond film GoldenEye and Julius...
and which achieved an 'International Emmy Award' nomination for best foreign film. The TV production series “Kommissarin Lukas, (Detevtive Lukas) with Thure Riefenstein as the male leading detective, achieved the highly acclaimed German “Adolf Grimme Award” nomination” for ‘Best Film’. In the Film “Boseckendorf, the night a village vanished” he was nominated as “Best Lead Male Actor” (Bambi Audience Award 2009 & Quotenmeter Award 2010) and was also semi finalist for the International Emmy Award 2010 in the same category as Best Lead Male Actor, to name a few productions.
Mr. Riefenstein also starred in the international action drama mini-series “Crusaders
The Crusaders (film)
The Crusaders is a 2001 Italian television mini-series made into a color feature film written by Andrew Porporati and directed by Dominique Othenin-Girard. The movie shows in English...
” (Dir.: Dominique Othenin Girard) with Armin Mueller-Stahl
Armin Mueller-Stahl
Armin Mueller-Stahl is a German film actor, painter, writer and musician.-Early life:Mueller-Stahl was born in Tilsit, East Prussia...
and Franco Nero
Franco Nero
Franco Nero is an Italian actor.-Early life:Nero was born Francesco Sparanero in San Prospero Parmense , the son of a sergeant in the...
, the successful feature comedy “666: In Bed with the Devil” (Dir.: Rainer Matsutani), the Canadian film “Criminal Instinct” (Dir.: Brad Turner
Brad Turner (director)
Brad Turner is an award-winning Canadian film and television director who has worked on several popular series. Born in Bayfield, Ontario, Canada, on June 22. He graduated with honors from the Television Arts Program at H. B. Beal Secondary School in London, Ontario.In all he has directed thirteen...
) with Victor Garber
Victor Garber
Victor Joseph Garber is a Canadian film, stage and television actor and singer. Garber is known for playing Jesus in Godspell, Jack Bristow in the television series Alias, Max in Lend Me a Tenor, and Thomas Andrews in James Cameron's Titanic.-Early life:Born in London, Ontario, Canada, Garber is...
or in the science fiction feature “Ainoa” (Dir.: Marko Kalantari).
Riefenstein also has a fundamental experience in theatre which includes plays from Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
, Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the...
, Walter Jens
Walter Jens
Walter Jens is a German philologist, literature historian, critic, university professor, and writer.In the early 1940s, Jens joined the NSDAP. He denies having applied for membership actively and claims having been forced to join the party...
, Ariane Mnouchkine
Ariane Mnouchkine
Ariane Mnouchkine is a world-renowned French stage director. She founded the Parisian avant-garde stage ensemble Théâtre du Soleil in 1964. She has written and directed 1789 and Molière , and in 1989, she directed La Nuit Miraculeuse...
or the legendary revue of “The Blue Angel” at repertory theatres in Germany, - comparable to Broadway Shows, - like the "Hamburger Schauspielhaus
Deutsches Schauspielhaus
The Deutsches Schauspielhaus is a theatre in the St. Georg quarter of the city of Hamburg, Germany. With a capacity for 1192 spectators, it places it as Germany's largest theatre...
", the "Theater des Westens" at Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
" or the "Berliner Ensemble
Berliner Ensemble
The Berliner Ensemble is a German theatre company established by playwright Bertolt Brecht and his wife, Helene Weigel in January 1949 in East Berlin...
". He worked with European theatre icons, AS for example the directors Peter Zadek
Peter Zadek
Peter Zadek was a German theatre and film director, play translator and screenwriter and is regarded as one of the greatest directors in German-speaking theater. He was the head of the Schauspielhaus Bochum, Bochum , the Deutsches Schauspielhaus, Hamburg and the Berliner Ensemble from 1992 to 1996...
, Jerome Saváry
Jérôme Savary
Jérôme Savary is a French theater director and actor. His work has democratized and widened the appeal of musical theater in France, drawing together and blending such genres as opera, operetta, and musical comedy.- Biography :...
, Peter Palitzsch or Vlad Mugur
Vlad Mugur
Vlad Mugur was a Romanian-born German theater director.He graduated from the Bucharest Theater Institute as valedictorian in 1949, but he had already started to direct plays two years earlier, in 1947.In 1965 he became director of the National Theater in Cluj...
.
He lived in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to practice in fringe theatres and in New York to work with Kristin Linklater
Kristin Linklater
Kristin Linklater is a Scottish vocal coach, dialect coach, acting teacher, actor, theatre director, and author. She is currently Head of Acting in the Theatre Arts Division of Columbia University.-Biography:...
. His American debut was in the New Yorker production of Jean Genet
Jean Genet
Jean Genet was a prominent and controversial French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. Early in his life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but later took to writing...
’s “The Maids
The Maids
The Maids is a play by the French dramatist Jean Genet. It was first performed at the Théâtre de l'Athénée in Paris in a production that opened on 17 April 1947, which Louis Jouvet directed...
” for the Berkshire theatre festival
Berkshire Theatre Festival
The Berkshire Theatre Festival is one of the oldest professional performing arts venues in the Berkshires, celebrating its 80th anniversary season in 2008.-History:...
. In Los Angeles he studied acting at the ACI based on Lee Strasberg's and Sandford Meisner’s working techniques.
Filmography (excerpts)
- 1998: Oskar und Leni, (Nomination for Adolf Grimme Award, Nomination for Max Ophüls AwardMax OphülsMaximillian Oppenheimer — known as Max Ophüls — was an influential German-born film director who worked in Germany , France , the United States , and France again...
), (theatrical) - 1998: The Best of the Best IV-Without Warning (USA), (theatrical)
- 1998: Doppeltes Spiel mit Anne (movie for TV)
- 1998: Romantic Fighter (movie for TV)
- 1998: Pensacola - Wings of Gold, USA, (movie for TV), USA
- 1998: Gefährliche Lust-Ein Mann in Versuchung (movie for TV)
- 1998: Kick Fire – Ohne jede Vorwarnung, USA (theatrical)
- 1999: Der letzte Zeuge (movie for TV)
- 1999: Maria Magdalena, (DE, IT), (movie for TV)
- 1999: Kein Weg zurück (movie for TV)
- 2000: Anna H. - Geliebte, Ehefrau und Hure, (movie for TV)
- 2000: Feindliche Übernahme - althan.com, (theatrical)
- 2000: Das Teufelsweib , (movie for TV)
- 2000: Geliebte Diebin, (movie for TV)
- 2001: The CrusadersThe Crusaders (film)The Crusaders is a 2001 Italian television mini-series made into a color feature film written by Andrew Porporati and directed by Dominique Othenin-Girard. The movie shows in English...
, (DE, IT), (Mini Series) - 2001: Dark Blue WorldDark Blue WorldDark Blue World is a 2001 film by Czech director Jan Svěrák about Czechoslovak pilots who fought for the British Royal Air Force during World War II. The screenplay was written by Zdeněk Svěrák, the father of the director....
(CZ, GB) (Czech Golden Lion, European Film Award, u. a.), (theatrical) - 2001: The wandering soul murder, (CAN), (Golden Reel AwardGolden Reel AwardGolden Reel Award may refer to:* Golden Reel Award , presented by the Genie Awards to high-grossing Canadian films...
, USA), (movie for TV) - 2003: Baltic StormBaltic StormBaltic Storm is a 2003 film written and directed by Reuben Leder about the MS Estonia disaster. Based on the book Die Estonia: Tragödie eines Schiffsuntergangs by German journalist Jutta Rabe, the film focuses on the confirmed transport of defense materials by the Swedish Armed Forces, and alleged...
, (DE, USA), (theatrical) - 2003: Ainoa (A), (theatrical)
- 2003: Heiraten macht mich nervös (Marrying makes me nervous), (movie for TV)
- 2003: Kommissarin Lucas, die Blaue Blume, (movie for TV, special)
- 2003: Im Namen des Herrn, (movie for TV)
- 2003: Polizeiruf 110, Tiefe Wunden, (Adolf Grimme Award), (movie for TV)
- 2004: Kommissarin Lucas, Vertrauen bis zuletzt, (movie for TV, special)
- 2004: Kommissarin Lucas, Vergangene Sünden, (movie for TV, special)
- 2004: Rose unter Dornen, (movie for TV)
- 2004: Julie Chevalier de Maupin, (France) (nomination for "international Emmy Award"), (Mini Series)
- 2006: Kommissarin Lucas, Das Verhör, (Grimmepreis nomination), (movie for TV, special)
- 2006: Kommissarin Lucas, Skizze einer Toten, (movie for TV, special)
- 2006: Wachgeküsst, (movie for TV)
- 2007: Alarm für Cobra 11, (movie for TV)
- 2007: Kommissarin Lucas, German Angst, (movie for TV)
- 2007: Kommissarin Lucas, (movie for TV, special)
- 2008: Kommissarin Lucas, Wut im Bauch, (movie for TV, special)
- 2008: Der Amokläufer, (movie for TV)
- 2008: Jack Hunter and the Lost Treasure of UgaritJack Hunter and the Lost Treasure of UgaritJack Hunter and the Lost Treasure of Ugarit is a 2008 American miniseries. It consists of three partsJack Hunter and the Lost Treasure of Ugarit, Jack Hunter and the Quest for Akhenaten's Tomb and Jack Hunter and the Star of Heaven.-Plot:...
(USA) , (mini series), Sci-fi Channel (US) - 2008: Jack Hunter and the Star of Heaven (USA), (mini series), Sci-fi Channel (US)
- 2008: Jack Hunter and the Quest for Akhenaten's Tomb, (USA), (mini series), Sci-fi Channel (US)
- 2009: A date for life, (movie for TV)
- 2009: Bösekendorf - The Nicht a village vanished, TV-Event Film, nomination for "Bambi audience awardBambi (prize)The Bambi - Deutschlands Wichtigster Medienpreis, often simply called Bambi Awards and stylized as BAMBI, are presented annually by Hubert Burda Media to recognize excellence in international media and television "with vision and creativity who affected and inspired the German public that year",...
2009", Quotenmeter Award: "Best lead actor" - 2009: High Society Murder - Das eitle Gesicht des Todes, (movie for TV)
- 2009: Erntedank - Ein Allgäukrimi (movie for TV)
- 2010: The WhoreThe Whore (2010 film)The Whore is a 2010 television film adaptation of a novel by the same name. The film is set in Konstanz, Germany in the years 1414 and 1415.The novel was written by Iny Lorentz...
, (Event-movie for TV) - 2011: Inga Lindström: Das dunkle Haus (movie for TV)
- 2011: Machtergreifung (Hitler-The Takeover), (Movie for TV)
- 2011: Sophie, USA, Canada, (theatrical)
- 2012 (release): Running with the Wind, (movie for TV)