Joachim Król was born in Herne on June 17, 1957. After graduating from school, he studied theatre in Cologne, while also running a bar in Dortmund. In 1981, he moved to Munich, where he studied acting at the renowned Otto-Falckenberg-Schule till 1984. Afterwards, he played at theatres in Bochum, Basel, Hannover, München and Moers. Around the same time, Król also started out in film and television. He gave his screen debut playing a mute-deaf man in Joseph Rusnak"s "Kaltes Fieber" (1984), and then appeared in Vivian Naefe"s "Ticket nach Rom", Krzysztof Zanussis "Wherever you are" (1987), and Doris Dörrie"s "Happy Birthday, Türke!" (1991).

His breakthrough as a screen actor came in 1993, thanks to two utterly different roles: In Tom Tykwer"s stark drama "Die tödliche Maria", Król played the sensitive neighbour Dieter who becomes the last resort for the titular hero; in Detlev Buck"s comedy "Wir können auch anders", he excelled as the charming nincompoop Rudi, who takes his brother on an absurd journey through East Germany. Both films were well received by critics and audiences alike, and his portrayal of Rudi won Król the German Film Prize.

Offbeat, naïve and tragic-comical characters became his trademark: In the box office comedy "Der bewegte Mann" (1994), Król stole the picture as an awkwardly shy gay man, and the role garnered him his second German Film Prize as Best Actor.

Yet he managed to expand his repertoire on a regular basis: He played a sensitive novelist in Helmut Dietl"s "Rossini oder die mörderische Frage, wer mit wem schlief" (1996), an eccentric police detective in Peter Lichtefeld"s road movie "Zugvögel… Einmal nach Inari" (1997), and a withdrawn undercover cop in "Es geschah am helllichten Tag (1997). And his minimalist style, which greatly informs his comic performances, also works for his tragic roles in dramas like "Gloomy Sunday" (1999) and "Tykwer"s "Der Krieger und die Kaiserin" (2000).

After playing the role of Commissario Brunetti in four TV adaptations of Donna Leon"s popular crime novels, Król surprised everyone with his portrayal of a lonely hit man in the "Lautlos" (2004). He continued to star in ambitious TV and film productions, including the satirical thriller "Silentium" (2004) and the adaptation of Günter Grass" novel "Unkenrufe" (2005). In the past years, Król also appeared in Paul Schrader"s "Adam Resurrected" (2008), the biopic "Mein Leben (2009), and the period piece "Henri 4" (2010).

Król, who is regarded as one of the most versatile actors in Germany, was also the titular hero of the TV crime series "Lutter", and for 2011, he is set to star as the new detective in the Frankfurt branch of the hugely successful series "Tatort".

Joachim Król and his wife, actress and manager Heidrun Teusner-Król, live in Cologne.