Ralf Richter was born August 17, 1957, in Essen and grew up in a working-class quarter in Bochum. After an apprenticeship as a carpenter, he studied at Westfälische Schauspielschule in Bochum. In 1981, Richter made his breakthrough performance in a pivotal role in Wolfgang Petersen"s war drama "Das Boot" ("The Boat"). Since then, Richter ranks among the best-known actors of German cinema. During his career, he has worked with several of the most famous directors and appeared, for instance, in Dominik Graf"s "Die Katze" ("The Cat") and Oskar Roehler"s "Suck My Dick".

Richter became most popular in his roles as shady rogue or amiable "pleb" that he portrayed in films like the holiday satire "Super-Stau" or the football comedy "Fussball ist unser Leben" ("Soccer Rules!"). With his ostentatious Ruhr area pedigree and his rough charm, Richter also played key roles in director Peter Thorwarth"s so-called "Unna trilogy": In "Bang Boom Bang", Richter starred as a choleric crook, in "Was nicht passt, wird passend gemacht" ("If It Don"t Fit, Use a Bigger Hammer"), he played a brash construction worker, and in "Goldene Zeiten", he played a bizarre pimp.

Besides numerous roles on the movie screen, Richter has also appeared in TV series like "Tatort" or "Der Fahnder". Ralf Richter has two children and lives in Cologne.