Adam Bousdoukos

Biography

Adam Bousdoukos, born January 25, 1974, in Hamburg, as the son of Greek parents, grew up in the multi-cultural Hamburg district Altona. He appeared in commercials already as a teenager and attended actor"s training at Hamburg"s Stage School. However, at first it did not seem as if Bousdoukus would start a career as an actor. After graduating from high school, he made a professional training as a physiotherapist, studied social education, and finished an internship at a station for drug-counselling service.

But with the help of his friend, director Fatih Akin, the self-taught actor finally became a professional actor. After a leading role in Akin"s short film "Sensin – Du bist es!" (1995), Bousdoukos made his feature-length debut in Akin"s Hamburg neighborhood drama "Kurz und schmerzlos" ("Short Sharp Shock") in 1998. Together with his co-leading actors Mehmet Kurtulus and Aleksandar Jovanovic, Bousdoukos won the Special Prize at the 1998 Locarno Film Festival. Furthermore, the trio together with director Akin won the 2001 Grimme award. In 1999, director Stefan Krohmer gave him the leading role in his mid-length film "Barracuda Dancing".

During the following years, Bousdoukos was mainly seen in bigger and smaller supporting roles in TV series such as "Doppelter Einsatz" (episode "Verraten und verkauft", 2002) or "Das Duo" (episode "Herzflimmern", 2005), in TV movies like "Der Weihnachtswolf" (2000) or in Franziska Buch"s film "Unsere Mutter ist halt anders" (2003), but also in productions for the movie screen like "Der Ärgermacher" (2000) and "Kebab Connection" (2004).

Bousdoukos also made smaller appearances in Fatih Akin"s films "Im Juli" ("In July", 2000), in Solino" (2002), and in "Gegen die Wand" ("Head-On", 2004). In 2009, he played the leading role in Akin"s film neighborhood comedy "Soul Kitchen" that won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival. The film that was co-written by Bousdoukos tells the story of the confusions of a Hamburg bar owner. The film"s story is inspired by Bousdoukos"s own experiences as a restaurant and bar owner: Besides a music club that has closed in the meantime, Bousdoukos was the owner of a Greek tavern in the Hamburg district Ottensen until early 2009. The same year he was one of the leads in the comedy "Dicke Hose".

Bousdoukos maintained a busy schedule with his roles in "Er war einer von uns" (2010, TV), "Vatertage - Opa über Nacht" (2012), "V8 – Du willst der Beste sein" (2013), "Ein Geschenk der Götter" (2014) and the acclaimed TV drama "Die Auserwählten" (2014). In 2014, he also had recurring roles in the TV shows "Der letzte Bulle" and "Lindenstraße".

After appearing in the TV production "Super-Dad" (2015), Bousdoukos returned to the big screen with starring roles in the action film "V8² - Die Rache der Nitros" and the comedy "Highway to Hellas".

Besides his acting career, Bousdoukos also works as a musician for several bands and co-produced the compilation album "Ottensen Sampler" that came out in 2008.