Helmut Griem


Helmut Griem was a German film, television and stage actor, and director.

Biography

Born in Hamburg, Griem was primarily a stage actor, appearing at the Thalia Theater in Hamburg, the Deutsches Schauspielhaus in Hamburg, the Burgtheater in Vienna, the Munich Kammerspiele, and finally in the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz, also in Munich.
Griem became well known to international audiences as the diabolic SS-officer Aschenbach in The Damned. His role in the Academy Award-winning film Cabaret as the wealthy Baron Maximilian von Heune is probably his best-known international performance. Other performances include his work in The McKenzie Break, and Ludwig and Breakthrough. Among his many film and TV appearances was one in NBC's Peter the Great as the Tsar's lifelong friend and "right hand" Alexander Menshikov, alongside Maximilian Schell. He starred in the television mini-series The Devil's Lieutenant directed by John Goldschmidt, adapted by Jack Rosenthal and based on the novel by the Hungarian-American playwright and author Maria Fagyas, for Channel 4 and ZDF.
Griem performed in many classic roles from both the German and English-language repertoire. Later in his career Griem turned to theatre direction, including Long Day's Journey Into Night by Eugene O'Neill. Before his death, he had planned to direct the Botho Strauss play, Die eine und die andere. Griem twice won the Bambi Award: in 1961 and in 1976. He died in Munich in 2004, aged 72.

Theatre

TitleAuthorRoleDirector
Intrigue and LoveFriedrich SchillerFerdinandWilli Schmidt
Leonce and LenaGeorg BüchnerLeonceHans Bauer
As You Like ItWilliam ShakespeareOrlandoWilli Schmidt
The Glass MenagerieTennessee WilliamsTomWilli Schmidt
Richard IIWilliam ShakespeareTitle RoleHans Lietzau
The Cherry OrchardAnton ChekhovLopachinHans Lietzau
The PhilanthropistChristopher HamptonPhilippDieter Dorn
The Prince of HomburgHeinrich von KleistTitle RoleHans Lietzau
The MaidsJean GenetClaireDieter Dorn
PhiloctetesHeiner MüllerTitle RoleHans Lietzau
Die RäuberFriedrich SchillerKarl MoorHans Lietzau
My Fair LadyLerner and LoeweProfessor HigginsAugust Everding
Troilus and CressidaWilliam ShakespeareThersitesDieter Dorn
FaustJohann Wolfgang GoetheTitle RoleDieter Dorn
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?Edward AlbeeGeorgeMartin Meltge

Filmography