Ralph Herforth

Biography

Ralph Herforth (née Ralph Schwachmeier) was born in Herford on January 15 1960 as the "older" brother of a twin. At the age of 19, he worked as an assistant at the musical seminar in Salzburg and discovered his passion for acting. The same year, he successfully applied at the renowned Max-Reinhardt-Seminar in Vienna. He completed his training as an actor in 1982, and the following year, he got his first engagement at the Schillertheater in Berlin. Since director Hans Neuenfels objected to his birth name Schwachmeier, Herforth took his hometown as inspiration for his stage name which he kept ever since. After his stint at the Schillertheater, he worked at the Stadttheater in Heilbronn(1987-1989), the Schauspielhaus Düsseldorf (1990) and the Schauspielhaus Wien (1991).

Following small parts in TV series, Ralph Herforth made his movie debut as the lead in Lars Becker's crime drama "Schattenboxer" in 1992. He then appeared in works like Becker's "Bunte Hunde" (1995) and Thomas Jahn's "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" (1997), as well as TV productions like "Ausgerechnet Zoé" (1994) and "Landgang für Ringo" (1996). He caught the attention of audiences and critics alike with his turn as a ruthless gangster in Fatih Akin's award-winning debut "Kurz und schmwerzlos".

Given his masculine and athletic looks, he was often cast as the tough macho guy, for instance as an undercover detective in "Der Eisbär", as a porn star in the comedy "Bang Boom Bang" (1999), as the villain in "Erkan & Stefan gegen die Mächte der Finsternis" (2002) or as a killer in the international co-production "Æon Flux" (2005). A notable exception was "Der Felsen" by Dominik Graf, in which Herforth played a married man who breaks up with his affair during a summer holiday. But mainly Herforth maintained a steady presence in television, and his memorable performances include the comedy "Scharf aufs Leben" (2000), the adventure romp "Das Blut der Templer" and the vividly discussed drama "Wut". He also was a cast member in the TV series "Verdammt verliebt" (2002), "Bis in die Spitzen" (2005/2006), "Allein gegen die Zeit" (2010) and "Unter anderen Umständen" (2006-2010).

In recent years, he appeared on the big screen in the comedy "Unter Strom" and the action spectacle "Fire". Another leading role came with the family drama "Swans", which premiered at the 2011 Berlin IFF and was released in summer 2011.

First and foremost, however, Herforth continued appearing in TV productions. For example as a macho policeman in the crime comedy "Der Mann, der alles kann" (2011), as a professional killer in "Die Jagd nach dem Bernsteinzimmer" (" The Hunt for the Amber Room", 2012) and in numerous series guest roles, e.g. in "SOKO Köln", "Der Staatsanwalt", "Letzte Spur Berlin" and "Tatort". He had a recurring role in 2016 in "Tierärztin Dr. Mertens", as an energetic zoo director. In the highly acclaimed television play "Angst in meinem Kopf" (2018), he was seen in a signature role as a brutal prison inmate who takes a female prison officer hostage. In addition, Herforth continued to play the detective commissioner Matthias Hamm in the crime series "Unter anderen Umständen". On the big screen in 2019 he was seen in a supporting role in the action comedy "Der letzte Bulle".

In addition to his acting activities, Ralph Herforth is co-owner of the Lindow-based real estate agency "Die Immobiliensucher". He is married to actress Zora Holt.