Horst Westphal, born 1929 in Leipzig, started to work as an automobile electrician but already attended private actor"s training in Meißen where he finally got an engagement at the city theatre. There he started a successful theatre career that has continued until today. Westphal performed at Berlin"s Maxim-Gorki-Theater, at Dresden"s and at Weimar"s Volksbühne, and at Mecklenburgisches Staatstheater in Schwerin, among others. In Schwerin, he played "Onkel Wanja" ("Uncle Vanya") in a production of Chekhov"s play by the same name and embodied the controversial character of Shylock in Shakespeare"s "The Merchant of Venice". Directed by Henry Hübchen he appeared in a production of Molière"s "Le Misanthrope" in Berlin and performed in classic plays such as "Hamlet" or "Waiting for Godot".

Besides his vast theatre work, Horst Westphal is only occasionally seen in film and TV productions – mainly in supporting roles. He did not play his first leading role in a movie until 2008. In Andreas Dresen"s highly praised relationship drama "Wolke Neun" ("Cloud Nine"), that won an award at the Cannes film festival, Westphal plays the lover of a married woman.