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Harald Krassnitzer was born on September 10, 1960, in Grödig, near Salzburg, Austria. After finishing secondary school, he trained for two careers at once: he completed an apprenticeship as a freight forwarding clerk while also studying acting at the Elisabethbühne in Salzburg. Following an engagement there from 1984 to 1988, he spent two years at the Schauspielhaus Graz, before moving on to the Vienna Volkstheater and later the Saarländisches Staatstheater in Saarbrücken, Germany.
He made his screen debut in 1993 in the youth crime series "Die Oase," playing a detective's assistant in a leading role. His breakthrough came in 1996 with the title role in the popular medical drama "Der Bergdoktor." He remained in the role until 2005, appearing in a total of 37 episodes.
Over the years, Krassnitzer worked almost exclusively in television productions. In "Der Pakt – Wenn Kinder töten" (1996)", he played a father who sexually abuses his teenage son (Daniel Brühl). In the thriller "Hurenmord – Ein Priester schweigt" (1998), he portrayed a priest pushed to moral limits by the seal of confession. During the filming of that production, he met actress Ann-Kathrin Kramer, who played his sister in the story; the two became a couple in 1999 and married in 2009.
From 1999 onward, Krassnitzer became widely known for his role as special investigator and lieutenant colonel Moritz Eisner in the Austrian editions of the long-running German crime series "Tatort." He received the Austrian television award Romy in 2000 and 2008 for most popular television actor. In 2014, together with Adele Neuhauser who plays his investigative partner, he was awarded the prestigious Grimme Prize for the "Tatort" drama "Angezählt."
His other roles include Nazi resistance figure General Erich Fellgiebel in "Stauffenberg" (2004), a winemaker in the Austrian TV series "Der Winzerkönig" (2005–2009), and an oil executive in "Der Wettbewerb" (2012). In 2013, he took on the title role of a mediator in the 13-part Austrian family series "Paul Kemp – Alles kein Problem."
Alongside his wife Ann-Kathrin Kramer, he has appeared in several productions, including the romantic story "Hochzeit in Rom" (2017), the crime drama "Tödliche Gier" (2021), and the marital drama "Aus dem Leben" (2024). For the latter, the couple was nominated for the 2025 German Acting Award.
In April 2025, it was announced that Krassnitzer and Neuhauser would leave their roles as the investigative "Tatort" duo at the end of 2026, bringing Krassnitzer's run in the series to a total of 63 episodes.
On the big screen, Krassnitzer has appeared only sporadically over the decades. He was part of the ensemble in "Unter Strom" ("Live Wire," 2009), had a supporting role as an uncle in the teenage comedy "Sturmfrei" (2009), and played a central role in the acclaimed thriller "Taktik" (2022) as a violent inmate who takes three prison staff members hostage.
In the drama "Der verlorene Mann" ("A Fading Man," 2026), Krassnitzer played a dementia patient who unexpectedly shows up at the home of his ex-wife (Dagmar Manzel), no longer remembering that their marriage ever ended.