David Kross
Encyclopedia
David Kross is a German actor. He is best known internationally for his role as Michael Berg in The Reader.
, 20 miles north of Hamburg
. He grew up in Bargteheide
, where he attended Eckhorst High School until 2007. He has two brothers and one sister. He played basketball at the professional TSV between 2004 and 2006.
. His first major theatrical appearance was in Auftritt in Kirsten Martensens Inszenierung Von Hilfe.
In 2005, Kross came to the attention of Detlev Buck
through his daughter Bernadette, and auditioned for Tough Enough; Buck hired Kross to play the lead, a 15-year-old boy who moves with his mother from a rich neighborhood of Berlin (Zehlendorf) to the Neukoelln area, known at the time for its high number of Turkish immigrants and high crime level. Kross not only won praise at Berlinale in 2006, but also won Best Actor in Nuremberg
at the 11th Filmfestival Deutschland/Tuerkei.
In 2006, Kross worked again with Buck in the film Hands Off Mississippi (Hände weg von Mississippi in German), playing a baker apprentice. In the fall of the same year, he started shooting a film by Marco Kreuzpaintner
, Krabat
(The Satanic Mill in English). In this version of Otfried Preußler
's children's book
, Kross plays the title role, one of the apprentices of magic, with co-stars Daniel Brühl
and Robert Stadlober
. The film was released on September 19, 2007 in movie festivals and in October 2008 in theatres.
In September 2007, The Reader began shooting in Berlin, Cologne
, and Gorlitz
. In Stephen Daldry
's adaption of the best-selling novel by Bernhard Schlink, Kross plays the lead role of Michael Berg, opposite Kate Winslet
, Ralph Fiennes
and Bruno Ganz
. He had to learn to speak English to appear in the film. The world premiere was at the Ziegfeld Theater in New York on December 3, 2008. The film was presented in the 2009 Berlinale but did not compete. In May 2009, Kross was honored for his performance in The Reader at the 62nd Cannes Festival, winning the Chopard trophy. Kross was nominated for an European Film Award as best actor.
His next work was in Same Same But Different
, again with Buck directing. The script is based on an autobiographical article by Benjamin Prüfer. The movie was shot in Cambodia
and released on January 21, 2010.
In July 2010, it was announced that Kross got a role in Steven Spielberg
's new project, War Horse
. Filming started in August 2010, on Dartmoor
, Devon, UK.
. His plan was to improve his acting skills and his English. However he dropped out at the end of the same year. Since then, he has been living in Berlin-Charlottenburg.
Early life
Kross was born in Henstedt-UlzburgHenstedt-Ulzburg
Henstedt-Ulzburg is a municipality in the district of Segeberg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.-Geography:The municipality of Henstedt-Ulzburg is situated on the outskirts of Hamburg approx. 30 km north of Hamburg and 13 km north of Norderstedt. Currently it is the largest municipality in...
, 20 miles north of Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
. He grew up in Bargteheide
Bargteheide
Bargteheide is a town in Stormarn district, Schleswig-Holstein state, Germany. It is situated between the cities of Ahrensburg and Bad Oldesloe, on the Hamburg to Lübeck rail line. Population around 13,000 .-External links:...
, where he attended Eckhorst High School until 2007. He has two brothers and one sister. He played basketball at the professional TSV between 2004 and 2006.
Career
His career started with a small appearance in the 2002 film Hilfe, ich bin ein Junge (English: Help, I'm a Boy!). In December 2003, he joined Blaues Wölkchen, a small group from a children's theatre in BargteheideBargteheide
Bargteheide is a town in Stormarn district, Schleswig-Holstein state, Germany. It is situated between the cities of Ahrensburg and Bad Oldesloe, on the Hamburg to Lübeck rail line. Population around 13,000 .-External links:...
. His first major theatrical appearance was in Auftritt in Kirsten Martensens Inszenierung Von Hilfe.
In 2005, Kross came to the attention of Detlev Buck
Detlev Buck
Detlev Buck is a German film director and actor.-Life and work:From his first short film at the age of 21 in 1982, Erst die Arbeit und dann?, he has remained one of the most important filmmakers working in Germany...
through his daughter Bernadette, and auditioned for Tough Enough; Buck hired Kross to play the lead, a 15-year-old boy who moves with his mother from a rich neighborhood of Berlin (Zehlendorf) to the Neukoelln area, known at the time for its high number of Turkish immigrants and high crime level. Kross not only won praise at Berlinale in 2006, but also won Best Actor in Nuremberg
Nuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
at the 11th Filmfestival Deutschland/Tuerkei.
In 2006, Kross worked again with Buck in the film Hands Off Mississippi (Hände weg von Mississippi in German), playing a baker apprentice. In the fall of the same year, he started shooting a film by Marco Kreuzpaintner
Marco Kreuzpaintner
Marco Kreuzpaintner is a German film director and screenwriter.-Life:Kreuzpaintner was born March 11, 1977 in Rosenheim in Bavaria, Germany. He studied History of Art in Salzburg. He is a self-taught filmmaker with a background in film, advertising and music video production. He was the assistant...
, Krabat
Krabat (film)
Krabat is a 2008 German fantasy film directed by Marco Kreuzpaintner from a screenplay by Michael Gutmann and Kreuzpaintner, based on Otfried Preußler's novel of the same name. The plot is about a boy, Krabat , who learns black magic from a sorcerer...
(The Satanic Mill in English). In this version of Otfried Preußler
Otfried Preußler
Otfried Preußler is a German children's books author. His best-known works are The Robber Hotzenplotz and The Satanic Mill ....
's children's book
The Satanic Mill
-Plot:Set in the late 17th century, the story follows the life of Krabat, a 14-year old Wendish beggar boy living in the eastern part of Saxony. For three consecutive nights, he is called through a dream to a watermill near the village Schwarzkollm. Upon heeding the call and arriving at the mill,...
, Kross plays the title role, one of the apprentices of magic, with co-stars Daniel Brühl
Daniel Brühl
Daniel César Martín Brühl González Domingo is a Spanish/German actor. He is best known as Daniel Brühl.-Personal life:Brühl was born in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. His father was the late German stage director Hanno Brühl and his mother was a Spanish professor. He also has a brother and a sister...
and Robert Stadlober
Robert Stadlober
Robert Stadlober is an Austrian actor and musician. His sister is Anja Stadlober, also an actress.-Biography:Robert Stadlober was born 3 August 1982 in the Austrian province of Carinthia and grew up in Puchfeld in the Steiermark and in Berlin...
. The film was released on September 19, 2007 in movie festivals and in October 2008 in theatres.
In September 2007, The Reader began shooting in Berlin, Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, and Gorlitz
Görlitz
Görlitz is a town in Germany. It is the easternmost town in the country, located on the Lusatian Neisse River in the Bundesland of Saxony. It is opposite the Polish town of Zgorzelec, which was a part of Görlitz until 1945. Historically, Görlitz was in the region of Upper Lusatia...
. In Stephen Daldry
Stephen Daldry
Stephen David Daldry, CBE is an English theatre and film director and producer, as well as a three-time Academy Award nominated and Tony Award winning director.-Early years:...
's adaption of the best-selling novel by Bernhard Schlink, Kross plays the lead role of Michael Berg, opposite Kate Winslet
Kate Winslet
Kate Elizabeth Winslet is an English actress and occasional singer. She has received multiple awards and nominations. She was the youngest person to accrue six Academy Award nominations, and won the Academy Award for Best Actress for The Reader...
, Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes is an English actor and film director. He has appeared in such films as The English Patient, In Bruges, The Constant Gardener, Strange Days, The Duchess and Schindler's List....
and Bruno Ganz
Bruno Ganz
Bruno Ganz is a Swiss actor, known for his roles as Damiel in Wings of Desire and Adolf Hitler in Downfall.- Early life :Bruno Ganz was born in Zürich to a Swiss mechanic father and a northern Italian mother. He had decided to pursue an acting career by the time he entered university...
. He had to learn to speak English to appear in the film. The world premiere was at the Ziegfeld Theater in New York on December 3, 2008. The film was presented in the 2009 Berlinale but did not compete. In May 2009, Kross was honored for his performance in The Reader at the 62nd Cannes Festival, winning the Chopard trophy. Kross was nominated for an European Film Award as best actor.
His next work was in Same Same But Different
Same Same But Different
Same Same But Different is a 2009 German drama film starring David Kross and Apinya Sakuljaroensuk. It was directed by Detlev Buck.The script follows the Benjamin Prüfer's 2006 article which was published in a magazine and later as a novel in 2007....
, again with Buck directing. The script is based on an autobiographical article by Benjamin Prüfer. The movie was shot in Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
and released on January 21, 2010.
In July 2010, it was announced that Kross got a role in Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
's new project, War Horse
War Horse (film)
War Horse is a 2011 British-American war drama film directed by Steven Spielberg and is intended for release in the United States on 25 December 2011 and in the United Kingdom on 13 January 2012...
. Filming started in August 2010, on Dartmoor
Dartmoor
Dartmoor is an area of moorland in south Devon, England. Protected by National Park status, it covers .The granite upland dates from the Carboniferous period of geological history. The moorland is capped with many exposed granite hilltops known as tors, providing habitats for Dartmoor wildlife. The...
, Devon, UK.
Personal life
In 2009, Kross started a 3-year course of studies at London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA)London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art is a leading British drama school in west London. LAMDA's president is Timothy West and its new principal is Joanna Read, who recently succeeded Peter James...
. His plan was to improve his acting skills and his English. However he dropped out at the end of the same year. Since then, he has been living in Berlin-Charlottenburg.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Hilfe, ich bin ein Junge | Paddy | Help, I'm a Boy! |
| 2003 | Adam & Eva | Adams Sohn | Austrian Austrians Austrians are a nation and ethnic group, consisting of the population of the Republic of Austria and its historical predecessor states who share a common Austrian culture and Austrian descent.... film |
| 2006 | Knallhart Knallhart Tough Enough is a German movie, directed by Detlev Buck, released in 2006. Main actors are David Kross and Jenny Elvers.-Plot summary:... |
Michael Polischka | Tough Enough |
| 2007 | Hände weg von Mississippi | Bäckerlehrling Bröckel | Hands off Mississippi |
| 2008 | Krabat Krabat (film) Krabat is a 2008 German fantasy film directed by Marco Kreuzpaintner from a screenplay by Michael Gutmann and Kreuzpaintner, based on Otfried Preußler's novel of the same name. The plot is about a boy, Krabat , who learns black magic from a sorcerer... |
Krabat | Adapted from a German language novel Krabat (The Satanic Mill in English) by Otfried Preußler Otfried Preußler Otfried Preußler is a German children's books author. His best-known works are The Robber Hotzenplotz and The Satanic Mill .... |
| The Reader | Young Michael Berg | Las Vegas Film Critics Award for Youth in Film Las Vegas Film Critics Society The Las Vegas Film Critics Society is a non-profit organization, composed of selected print, television and internet film critics in the Las Vegas metropolitan area.... Nominated – Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Young Performer Nominated – Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor Chicago Film Critics Association The Chicago Film Critics Association is an American film critic association.-Members:Current members include:*Sarah Knight Adamson*Zbigniew Banas*Shelley Cameron*Dave Canfield*Vittorio Carli*Erik Childress*Camerin Courtney*Bonnie DeShong... Nominated - European Film Award for Best Actor European Film Award for Best Actor -1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:-External links:*... |
|
| 2009 | Same Same But Different Same Same But Different Same Same But Different is a 2009 German drama film starring David Kross and Apinya Sakuljaroensuk. It was directed by Detlev Buck.The script follows the Benjamin Prüfer's 2006 article which was published in a magazine and later as a novel in 2007.... |
Ben | |
| 2011 | Das Blaue vom Himmel | Young Osvalds Kalnins | |
| War Horse War Horse (film) War Horse is a 2011 British-American war drama film directed by Steven Spielberg and is intended for release in the United States on 25 December 2011 and in the United Kingdom on 13 January 2012... |
Gunther | Post-Production | |
| 2012 | Comrade | Josef Auchtor | Filming |
Awards
- At the 11th Germany/Turkey Film Festival in Nuremberg, David won his first award as "Actor in a Leading Role" for his performance in Detlev BuckDetlev BuckDetlev Buck is a German film director and actor.-Life and work:From his first short film at the age of 21 in 1982, Erst die Arbeit und dann?, he has remained one of the most important filmmakers working in Germany...
s Tough EnoughKnallhartTough Enough is a German movie, directed by Detlev Buck, released in 2006. Main actors are David Kross and Jenny Elvers.-Plot summary:...
("Knallhart" in German). - 2009 Shooting Stars AwardShooting Stars AwardThe Shooting Stars Award is annually presented to ten young European actors at the Berlin International Film Festival. It was introduced in 1998 by European Film Promotion , a pan-European network of film promotion and export organisations, and is supported by the MEDIA Programme of the EU...
, at the Berlin International Film FestivalBerlin International Film FestivalThe Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978...
, annual acting awards for up-and-coming actors by European Film PromotionEuropean Film PromotionEuropean Film Promotion is an organisation which works for the worldwide promotion and marketing of European cinema. The EFP network incorporates 31 national promotion organisations from 32 European countries.-Activities:EFP's major objectives are:...
. - 2010 Shooting Stars Award at Romy TV-AwardsRomy (TV award)The Romy TV award in honor of the actress Romy Schneider was created in 1990 by the Austrian newspaper Kurier – or rather their movie reviewer Rudolf John, who also designed the 30.5 cm gilded trophy. It recalls a scene from the movie The Swimmingpool with Alain Delon, when Romy Schneider...
, together with Cristiana CapotondiCristiana Capotondi- Biography :Capotondi was born in Rome to an Italian family of Italian Jewish descent. She graduated from the Università La Sapienza in Rome with a degree in communication sciences....
.