Biography
Burkhard Driest was a German actor, writer and director. Born on 28 April 1939 in Stettin (now Szczecin, Poland), he died in Berlin in February 2020. He appeared as Pimp #2 in Werner Herzog's Stroszek (1977) and played Schütze Maag in Sam Peckinpah's Cross of Iron (1977). Other acting credits include the role of Mario in Rainer Werner Fassbinder's Querelle (1982).
Driest also wrote screenplays, including for Querelle and the autobiographical film Die Verrohung des Franz Blum (1974), based on his own novel about prison life. He had studied law before serving time for bank robbery and later collaborated with directors such as Reinhard Hauff on several projects. He received an award at the Oldenburg International Film Festival in 2019.
