Armin Mueller-Stahl
Armin Mueller-Stahl was born in Tilsit (Tyl|a), East Prussia, Germany. He was a noted concert violinist while he was a teenager. He turned to film acting in East Berlin in 1950. Mueller-Stahl broadened his film career with his US film debut as Jessica Lange's father in MUSIC BOX in 1989. He subsequently took strong character roles in KAFKA by Steven Soderbergh and NIGHT ON EARTH by Jim Jarmusch. He is also remembered for his role as the Soviet general in charge of the occupied United States in the ABC television miniseries AMERIKA. Mueller-Stahl's leading role in AVALON is also memorable. Mueller-Stahl won the Silver Bear for Best Actor in the 1992 Berlinale for his performance in UTZ. He received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in SHINE (1996). Mueller-Stahl was also in the 1997 remake of the movie 12 ANGRY MEN. In 1998, he played the German scientist and Syndicate Member, Conrad Strughold, in the feature film THE X-FILES: FIGHT THE FUTURE.
In the early 2000s, Mueller-Stahl gained applause for his portrayal of Thomas Mann in a German historic film production about the Mann family (Thomas Mann, his brother Heinrich Mann, and others) called DIE MANNS - EIN JAHRHUNDERTROMAN. In 2004, Mueller-Stahl made another rare foray onto American television, guest-starring in four episodes on the television drama series THE WEST WING as the Prime Minister of Israel. He starred in David Cronenberg's 2007 crime/drama EASTERN PROMISES and has been attached to the upcoming films THE INTERNATIONAL and DIE BUDDENBROOKS.