Wow, I'm speechless. I still haven't seen The Lives of Others yet, so the only thing I'm familiar with Ulrich Mühe from is Michael Haneke's Funny Games... but, as y'all know, where Funny Games is concerned there is no "only" for me. From CNN:
"German actor Ulrich Muehe, whose haunting portrayal of an East German secret police agent in the Oscar-winning drama "The Lives of Others" won him international renown, has died at the age of 54, his family says.
Muehe, who grew up in the former communist state and saw his own early career marred by Stasi informants, told German newspapers this month that he was suffering from stomach cancer.
He was a veteran of German theatre and had roles in more than thirty domestic and foreign films, but will be remembered internationally for playing Gerd Wiesler, the bald Stasi officer in the film that won a best foreign language Oscar in February...
Muehe's own career was hurt by a Stasi informant close to his family, but he said he believed all human beings were capable of positive change. He argued that art contributed to such change and helped topple the communist regime.
"Art can change your life. It holds a power that is so strong that it can melt even a dreaded Stasi officer," he said in one interview.
Muehe leaves behind his wife, actress Susanne Lothar, and five children from three marriages."
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2 comments:
Oh, that's so sad. He was rather wonderful in The Lives of Others-a very moving performer.
Wait....wow. I feel like he just came into my scope of awareness. That's awful.
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