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Georg Friedrich

Date of Birth
10/31/1966 - 12:00
Geburtsort
Wien, Österreich
Biography

Georg Friedrich was born on October 31st, 1966 in Vienna. There he studied acting and from the mid-1990s on, he appeared in numerous Austrian TV and film productions. In the course of his career, he frequently worked with some of the country's most prolific directors: Michael Haneke cast him in "Der siebente Kontinent" (1989), "Die Klavierspielerin" (2001) and "Wolfzeit" (2003), Barbara Albert gave him roles in "Nordrand" (1999), "Böse Zellen" (2004) and "Fallen" (2006), and he also appeared in "Hundstage" (2006) and "Import/Export" by Ulrich Seidl and Michael Glawogger's "Contact High" (2009).

Friedrich often plays proletarians, social outcasts or dodgy characters. He portrayed a pimp in "Hurensohn" (2003), an oddball janitor in "Silentium", a hippie in "Die Unerzogenen" (2007), a mischievous caretaker in "Import / Export" and a seedy gangster in "Das wilde Leben" (2008). Opposite Moritz Bleibtreu he starred in "Mein bester Feind" (2011), playing an opportunist who sells his Jewish friend down the river during the German occupation of Vienna. In Jan Schomburg's "Über uns das All" he plays alongside Sandra Hüller.

In the same year, he elated critics and the audience alike as a grumpy mortician in the award-winning social drama "Atmen" (AT). A delightfully comedic appearance as a Baghwan follower in Marcus H. Rosenmüller's comedy "Sommer in Orange" ("My Life in Orange") was to follow. In a very prestigious and demanding role, Friedrich featured as Faust's student Wagner in Aleksandr Sokurov's radical re-interpretation of "Faust" (RU 2011) which won the Golden Lion in Venice.

In Christoph Schaub's black comedy "Nachtlärm" ("Lullaby Ride", CH/GER) he played a part time crook who, together with his girlfriend, steals a car – without realizing that a baby is sleeping on the backseat. He had small, but memorable parts in Detlev Buck's "Die Vermessung der Welt" (2012) and in "Eastalgia – einfach leben" (2012). Late 2013 saw the release of "Annelie", in which Friedrich plays a drug addict whose home, a former hostel, is about to be condemned.

In 2014, Friedrich appeared in Benjamin Heisenberg's "Über-Ich und Du" ("Superegos", DE/CH/AT) and played an aging vampire in the children's film sequel "Die Vampirschwestern 2" ("Vampire Sisters 2"). The same year, he received a lifetime achievement award at the Austrian film festival "Diagonale".

His performance as a ruthless gangster in the 2015 psychological thriller "Stereo" garnered him a nomination for the Deutsche Schauspielerpreis. In 2016, Friedrich starred in the mystery drama "Aloys" (CH/FR) and appeared as a mean-spirited office manager in Nicolette Krebitz' "Wild".

Starring opposite Cornelia Froboess, he made a memorable turn as a shady bar owner who hosts illegal poker games in the comedy "Pokerface - Oma zockt sie alle ab" (2016, TV). He next reprised his role as gangster Schorsch from "Nacktschnecken" ("Slugs", AT/DE 2004) and "Contact High" (2007) for "Hotel Rock'n'Roll" (AT), which concluded the trilogy. Following the comedy "Der Hund begraben" (2016), Friedrich played the vengeful brother of a murdered saloon owner in the TV western miniseries "Winnetou" (2016).

Georg Friedrich appeared in two films running in the competition of the 2017 Berlin IFF: In Josef Hader's tragicomedy "Wilde Maus" ("Wild Mouse", AT/DE 2016), he played the long-time friend of the protagonist; in Thomas Arslan's "Helle Nächte" ("Bright Nights", 2017), he portrayed an engineer who recently lost his father and now tries to reconnect with his own 13-year-old son on a trip through rural Norway. For his role in "Helle Nächte" Friedrich was awarded the Silver Bear for Best Actor.

After that, in 2018, he played the main character Robert Green in the short feature film "Midas oder die schwarze Leinwand", a company boss who is pressured into staging a suicide in order to clean up the company's image. In that same year, he portrayed the morally suspect character Ronny in Detlev Buck's "Asphalt Gorillas" alongside Jannis Niewöhner and Samuel Schneider.

In the Hesse adaptation "Narziss und Goldmund" (2020) by Stefan Ruzowitzky, Georg Friedrich then appeared in a supporting role as a duke. In Sebastian Meise's "Große Freiheit," which premiered at Cannes in 2021 and won a jury prize there, he portrayed the murderer Viktor, who after initial differences finds a companion in his struggle in the homosexual fellow inmate Hans (Franz Rogowski) with whom a deep relationship develops. At the Sarajevo Film Festival 2021 and at the Austrian Film Awards 2022, Friedrich was awarded Best Actor for this role.   

Subsequently, he could be seen in Ulrich Seidl's sibling films "Rimini" (AT/FR/DE/IT 2022) and "Sparta" (AT/FR/DE 2022), each telling the story of two brothers. He also played the role of Archduke Viktor of Austria in the historical film  "Sis & ich" ("Sisi & I", DE/AT/CH 2022).

Filmography
2023-2025
Fabula
  • Cast
2017-2022
Böse Spiele - Rimini Sparta
  • Cast
2021/2022
Sisi & ich
  • Cast
2017-2022
Sparta
  • Cast
2017-2022
Rimini
  • Cast
2021/2022
Buba
  • Cast
2020/2021
Große Freiheit
  • Cast
2019/2020
Freud
  • Cast
2018-2020
Narziss und Goldmund
  • Cast
2016-2018
Ende Neu
  • Cast
2017/2018
Nichts zu verlieren
  • Cast
2017/2018
Asphaltgorillas
  • Cast
2017/2018
Midas oder die schwarze Leinwand
  • Cast
2016/2017
Helle Nächte
  • Cast
2015-2017
Wilde Maus
  • Cast
2015/2016
Winnetou
  • Cast
2016
Der Hund begraben
  • Cast
2015/2016
Marija
  • Cast
2014/2015
Wild
  • Cast
2015
Morgen hör ich auf
  • Cast
2014/2015
Ein Richter
  • Cast
2013/2014
Die Vampirschwestern 2 - Fledermäuse im Bauch
  • Cast
2012-2014
Über-Ich und Du
  • Cast
2013/2014
Stereo
  • Cast
2011/2012
Die Vermessung der Welt
  • Cast
2012
Eastalgia - einfach leben
  • Cast
2012
Fieber
  • Cast
2011/2012
Nachtlärm
  • Cast
2009-2012
Annelie
  • Cast
2009-2011
Mein bester Feind
  • Cast
2010/2011
Sommer in Orange
  • Cast
2010/2011
Über uns das All
  • Cast
2010/2011
Föhnlage. Ein Alpenkrimi
  • Cast
2011
Faust
  • Cast
2011
Same way
  • Cast
2009/2010
Im Alter von Ellen
  • Cast
2009/2010
Am Ende des Tages
  • Cast
2010
La Lisière - Am Waldrand
  • Cast
2008/2009
Parkour
  • Cast
2007/2008
Nordwand
  • Cast
2006/2007
Import/Export
  • Cast
2005-2007
Das wilde Leben
  • Cast
2007
Contact High
  • Cast
2005-2007
Die Unerzogenen
  • Cast
2006
Fallen
  • Cast
2005/2006
Knallhart
  • Cast
2005/2006
Klimt
  • Cast
2004/2005
Keller
  • Cast
2004/2005
Liebe Amelie
  • Cast
2005
Kabale und Liebe
  • Cast
2004/2005
Fremde Haut
  • Cast
2004
Welcome Home
  • Cast
2003/2004
Basta. Rotwein oder Totsein
  • Cast
2004
Nacktschnecken
  • Cast
2003/2004
Hurensohn
  • Cast
2004
Silentium
  • Cast
2003
Leyla
  • Cast
2002/2003
Wolfzeit
  • Cast
2002/2003
Böse Zellen
  • Cast
2001/2002
Richtung Zukunft durch die Nacht
  • Cast
2001
Hundstage
  • Cast
2000/2001
Die Klavierspielerin
  • Cast
1999
Nie wieder Oper
  • Cast
1997
Blutrausch
  • Cast
1993/1994
71 Fragmente einer Chronologie des Zufalls
  • Cast
1991/1992
Kinder der Landstraße
  • Cast
1989
Der siebente Kontinent
  • Cast
1984
Die Försterbuben
  • Cast
Source-URL: https://www.filmportal.de/en/person/georg-friedrich_f2ff6d86471924d9e03053d50b377d98