Arnim Müller-Stahl

Armin Mueller-Stahl (born 17 December 1930) is a German film actor, painter and author. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Shine. Mueller-Stahl was born in Tilsit, East Prussia (now Sovetsk, Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia). Mueller-Stahl was a film and stage actor in East Germany. For the german television, he played the main character of the popular series "Das unsichtbare Visier" from 1973–1979. After protesting against Wolf Biermann's denaturalisation in 1976 he was blacklisted by the government. Emigrating in 1980 to West Germany, he found regular work in films. These included Rainer Werner Fassbinder's Lola (1981) and Veronika Voss (1982). Mueller-Stahl made his American film debut as Jessica Lange's character's father in Music Box (1989). He subsequently took character roles in Kafka by Steven Soderbergh and Night on Earth by Jim Jarmusch (both 1991). Mueller-Stahl won the Silver Bear for Best Actor at the 42nd Berlin International Film Festival for his performance in Utz (1992) and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as the abusive father of pianist David Helfgott in the 1996 movie Shine. Conversation with the Beast (1996) was his first film as director. In 2008, he won the Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role for Eastern Promises. In 2011, he was awarded the Honorary Golden Bear at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival. (Source: Wikipedia)