Biography
Michael Gwisdek was a German actor and film director. Born in Berlin-Weissensee on 14 January 1942, he trained at the Academy of Performing Arts in East Berlin from 1965 to 1968 and began his career in East German theatre, including engagements in Karl Marx Stadt and at the Volksbühne in Berlin.
He appeared in more than 130 films and television productions from 1968 onwards. His directorial debut Treffen in Travers (1989) screened at the Cannes Film Festival. He played Klapprath in Good Bye, Lenin! (2003) and Helmut Ensslin in The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008). Gwisdek won the Silver Bear for Best Actor at the Berlin International Film Festival in 1999 for Nachtgestalten. He died in Berlin on 22 September 2020.
