The face of German theatre
Sandra Hüller is one of Germany's most successful actresses.
Her world is the stage. 36-year-old Sandra Hüller looks inconspicuous at first glance, but this cursory impression is deceptive. The blonde actress with the grey-blue eyes puts so much intensity and dedication into her roles that “Spielwütige” (crazy about acting), as she is known, has been regarded as one the most important actresses in the country for some time now.
Ms Hüller was born in 1978 in the former East Germany, so she was eleven years old when the Berlin Wall fell. In interviews, this “child of the revolution” has described this experience as a great break in her childhood. “It was a huge shock: all of a sudden my childhood stopped – it was all too early,” she said. Her doubts and her caution towards life stemmed from this experience, when the world in which she lived was completely transformed. “Since then I know that everything can change from one day to the next.” As a young woman, she went to the famous Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Art in Berlin, after which Ms Hüller intially played in medium-sized theatres in Jena and Leipzig. As a permanent member of the ensemble at the Schauspiel in Basel, Switzerland, she excelled in 2002, for example as Gretchen in Goethe's Faust. A year later, she was already voted the year's best up-and-coming young actress by the magazine “Theater Heute” (“Theatre Today”).
Her film début catapulted her to the top
She became famous all over Germany after her cinema début in 2004. In the film “Requiem” Sandra Hüller played a catholic student called Michaela, who seemed to be possessed by demons and died following an exorcism. This film was followed by a lot of important cinema and stage roles; she also won a flood of prestigious prizes including the German Film Prize. In 2013 “Theater Heute” crowned her actress of the year. Today, Sandra Hüller lives in the Bavarian capital of Munich and is a member of the ensemble of the Munich Kammerspiele, one of the top theatres in Germany. It will be represented with two outstanding productions at the 51st Berliner Theatertreffen.
Theatertreffen until 18 May 2014 in Berlin
