Josef Bierbichler, born on April 26, 1948, in Ambach at the Starnberg Lake, worked in a hotel before he was accepted to the renowned Otto Falckenberg drama school in Munich at the age of 23. In the mid-1970s Bierbichler met film and theatre director Herbert Achternbusch. They became close friends and for the following years intensively worked together for films such as "Bierkampf" ("Beer Chase") or "Heilt Hitler". Bierbichler also worked with directors such as Werner Herzog ("Herz aus Glas" - "Heart of Glass"), Tom Tykwer ("Die tödliche Maria" - "Deadly Maria"), Michael Haneke ("Code unbekannt" - "Code Unknown"), Hans Steinbichler ("Hierankl", "Winterreise" - "Winter Journey") and Jan Schütte ("Abschied" - "The Farewell").

Most of those parts stand out for Bierbichler"s remarkable physical presence but he also tends to lend his characters an air of melancholy and reflectiveness. Besides his TV and film work Bierbichler is quite often seen on stage. He also has his say in social and political matters. In 1999 for instance, he furiously commented on the war in Kosovo. In 2004, Bierbichler published his autobiographically influenced book "Verfluchtes Fleisch", a critical assessment of the established culture and theatre scene.

Josef Bierbichler is the father of three children. Besides being an actor and writer he is also a spare-time farmer.