View for person of id: 4620
Thorsten Merten
Born: 1st Dec 1963 Ruhla, Germany
Dept: Acting
Thorsten Merten (born December 4, 1963, in Ruhla) is a German actor.
Thorsten Merten originally intended to become a journalist and initially worked as a trainee at the newspaper *Das Volk*. After completing his military service, he underwent acting training from 1986 to 1990 at the "Ernst Busch" Academy of Dramatic Arts in Berlin, where he attended the newly established cabaret department and graduated with a diploma in cabaret performance.
This was followed by engagements at various theaters both at home and abroad, including the Théâtre Vidy in Lausanne, the Staatstheater Schwerin, the Maxim Gorki Theater Berlin, the Volksbühne Berlin, and the Deutsches Theater Berlin. For his stage work, he was awarded the Conrad Ekhof Prize in 1999.
His notable stage roles include McMurphy in *One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest*, the Ghost in *Hamlet*, as well as roles in *Ivanov*, *Prometheus*, and *Sonnenallee*. In 2024, he played the role of operations manager Kuckuck in the operetta *Messeschlager Gisela* at the Komische Oper Berlin.
Merten gained his first experience in front of the camera in 1992 in Andreas Dresen's film *Stilles Land*. He achieved his breakthrough in 2001 with the tragicomedy *Halbe Treppe* (Grill Point), also directed by Dresen. Since then, he has appeared regularly in both feature films and television productions.
Merten also gained recognition through roles in *Wilsberg*, *Afrika, mon amour*, *Bella Block*, *Helen Dorn*, *Donna Leon*, and numerous episodes of *Tatort*. From 2013 to 2021, he played the role of precinct chief Stich in the Weimar-based *Tatort* series. Since 2009, he has portrayed Chief Inspector—later Police Commissioner—Martin Fichte in the ZDF series *Spreewaldkrimi*.
He has also played lead roles in other productions, including *Silvi* and *Fremdkörper*. In 2021, he received the German Film Award for his supporting role in *Curveball – Wir machen die Wahrheit*. Furthermore, Merten came up with the idea for the Netflix series *Das letzte Wort*, in which he appeared alongside Anke Engelke.
[ToDo] Show list of extra photos here.
Film and Tv Credits
Total number of credits listed: 141
Film: 94 (67%)
Television: 47 (33%)
Remaining genres not in graph: Music, Adventure, Documentary, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, War & Politics, Action, Action & Adventure, Talk
Filmography
(No release date supplied. Possibly still in production.)
Described as a high-concept anthology thriller; an exploration of the universal processes that can turn peaceful individuals into people capable of vi ... view
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(No release date supplied. Possibly still in production.)
Lou Caspari is confronted with a client whose defense she is strongly advised against. Mario Lenzi is notorious as a professional killer who works for ... view
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(No release date supplied. Possibly still in production.)
The story of André, a bohemian and loser of the reunification era, who gets by with small odd jobs in Leipzig. When his adolescent daughter has to st ... view
Character:
Original title: Der Held vom Bahnhof Friedrichstraße
2025
All his life, Michael Hartung, owner of a hopelessly debt-ridden video store, has bet on the wrong horse. When an ambitious journalist confronts him w ... view
Character:
Harald Wischnewsky
Original title: Die Nichte des Polizisten
2025
A group of young, ambitious candidates for a special police unit in Baden-Württemberg are driven to perform at their best. One of them is 23-year-old ... view
Character:
Werner Barth
Original title: Zikaden
2025
The story of a friendship between two dissimilar women: On the one hand, single mother Anja, who tries to keep herself and her daughter afloat with va ... view
Character:
Uwe
Apr 2025 (first aired)
The cum-ex scandal has caused 146 billion euros in losses in several countries. Inspired by true events, two women from Germany and Denmark are trying ... view
Character:
Rolf Lebert (3 ep.)
Jan 2025 (first aired)
Rosa Bernhard, a young journalist, investigates the death of an American tourist named Zofia, who died following a night out at a nightclub called Rea ... view
Character:
Matt (6 ep.)
Original title: Bach - Ein Weihnachtswunder
2024
Leipzig, December 1734: Christmas brings the Bach family together. The first snow has fallen and the children Gottfried and Elisabeth are delighted ab ... view
Character:
Adrian Stieglitz
Original title: In Liebe, eure Hilde
2024
In Berlin 1942, Hilde is a member of an anti-Nazi group. She falls in love with another member, Hans. The two spend a summer together until they get c ... view
Character:
Dr. Minergerode
2024
Griesenow, 2013: The hairdresser Marianne Voss is found dead in the forest by her daughter Heike. Shortly afterwards, her husband Karsten comes under ... view
Character:
Fritz Malowski
2024
Another murder takes place in tranquil Klein-Freudenstadt. And Angela Merkel is in the middle of it again. ... view
Character:
Achim Sauer
2024
The life of a taxi driver is to not judge or get involved. It's to go where he's told to go, for a price. One day, Thomas gets a group of odd passenge ... view
Character:
Passfälscher
2024
Omer and Carine move restlessly from place to place and keep their heads above water with tournaments at the pool table. Both are on the run from thei ... view
Character:
Dieter
2023
Bettina and Martin meet again, one year later on New Year's Eve. This time, they are trapped in the backroom of Moosbach's sports hall since Martin ri ... view
Character:
Oliver
Oct 2023 (first aired)
Jannik and Tai, mobbed by their classmates, are two 17-year-old students who one day find their school principal drunk as a skunk on the street an ... view
Character:
Jens Lamprecht (6 ep.)
May 2023 (first aired)
The Gryphon, a dark power from another world, is a threat to Mark and all he loves. Mark must accept his heavy family legacy and go into battle to sav ... view
Character:
Dr. Peters (6 ep.)
2023
After a blow to the head, Gilles wakes up in the hospital. He knows that his wife Lisa caused the injury. The act is the result of years of accumulate ... view
Character:
Dieter Beil
Apr 2023 (first aired)
Based on the true story of Sam Meffire’s rise and fall in East Germany, this miniseries follows Sam’s desperate search for a place he can call hom ... view
Character:
Major Schreier (7 ep.)
2023
Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel is retired and lives with her husband and pug in a small town. She is bored with the quiet life. When a man is ... view
Character:
Joachim Sauer
Original title: Was man von hier aus sehen kann
2022
On a beautiful spring day, a small village full of eccentric characters wake up to hear Selma has had a premonition: she dreamt of a rare animal again ... view
Character:
Herr Rödder
Original title: Jagdsaison
2022
In the German comedy Jagdsaison, a wellness weekend for three friends is in danger of derailing: Marlene is in a serious midlife crisis and is looking ... view
Character:
Vermieter
Original title: Alfons Zitterbacke - Endlich Klassenfahrt
2022
After oversleeping yet again, Alfons manages to catch the bus to his class trip to the Baltic Sea at the last minute. In his luggage: lots of adventur ... view
Character:
Herr Flickendorf
Original title: Eingeschlossene Gesellschaft
2022
On a Friday afternoon, there was an unexpected knock on the door of the staff room of a city high school. An ambitious father is willing to go to extr ... view
Character:
Manfred Prohaska
Feb 2022 (first aired)
ZERV" tells of the first years after the fall of the Wall, the breaks in life courses, of completely different biographies and of the successful comin ... view
Character:
Hajo Gärster (6 ep.)
2022
Emily (8) is terminally ill. Her parents ask the new CEO of a small pharmaceutical company, Dr. Julia Schemmel, for the early release of a drug that i ... view
Character:
Bernhard Elster
2021
For Connie, things have been going to plan for many years, both professionally and in her private life. That is, until the son of the CEO takes over t ... view
Character:
Dirk
Original title: Curveball - Wir machen die Wahrheit
2021
Although he already has searched Iraq unsuccessfully for weapons of mass destruction as a member of a UN mission, German bio-weapons expert Arndt Wolf ... view
Character:
Schatz
2020
After 14 years of prison Nabil is released and thrown back into his life. ... view
Character:
Wärter Grunert
Sep 2020 (first aired)
A story about a funeral eulogy speaker who loses faith in her work and tries to sabotage her husband's funeral. ... view
Character:
Andreas Borowski (6 ep.)
2020
Year 2047: "Inifinitalk" is the AI developed by some guys, offering possible eternal life through digitization of peoples mind and when they want to s ... view
Character:
Hönings
2020
The full attention of everyone - just for a moment in time. Maya is sixteen and tries to find online-fame and understanding through a selfie-live-vlog ... view
Character:
2019
White gold is buried in Beelitz, Brandenburg, but after initial successes, former BND agent Sven (Herold Vomeer) is targeted by a dangerous organizati ... view
Character:
Vogtländer
Original title: Das Vorspiel
2019
Violin teacher Anna Bronsky detects remarkable talent in a student, Alexander. Anna becomes obsessed with mentoring him, neglecting her family and spi ... view
Character:
2019
A kidnapped musician and his missing violin are the prelude to a series of murders whose victims were deeply involved in business connections between ... view
Character:
Kurt Lehrmann
Original title: Petting statt Pershing
2019
West Germany, 1983. Seventeen-year-old Ursula wants it all and is thus too much, although all she's looking for is love. Enter Siegfried Grimm, the ch ... view
Character:
Helmut Mayer
Original title: Alfons Zitterbacke: Das Chaos ist zurück
2019
Clumsy peculiar pupil Alfons Zitterbacke dreams of being an astronaut and wreaks havoc anywhere he goes but against all odds wants to proof everyone w ... view
Character:
Mr. Flickendorf
2018
Walter is a 60-year-old removal man for forced evictions. He recognizes in one of the tenants about to be evicted his estranged son, Jan. In order to ... view
Character:
Alfred Hoppe
Original title: Das schönste Mädchen der Welt
2018
17-year-old Cyril is funny, smart and an all-round good guy. Just his somewhat overlarge nose spoils the picture. On a school trip to Berlin with Roxy ... view
Character:
Taxifahrer Klaus
Original title: Донбас
2018
In the historic Donbass region of eastern Ukraine, despite the cruel war that has been raging since 2014 between the self-proclaimed People's Republic ... view
Character:
German Journalist
2018
The real life story of East German singer and writer Gerhard Gundermann and his struggles with music, life as a coal miner and his dealings with the s ... view
Character:
Puppenspieler
Jan 2018 (first aired)
At a poorly-funded German cultural institute in the fictional "armpit" of the Middle East, efforts by interns and staff to promote German language and ... view
Character:
Unknown/various (1 ep.)
2017
The mountain spirit Rübezahl falls in love with the young maid Rosa. Blind with love, he does not notice that the Baroness of Harrant wants to plunde ... view
Character:
Arzt
2017
Hanni works around the clock as a cleaning lady. She has to because her husband, whom she loves, has not exactly shown himself to be a support financi ... view
Character:
Professor
2017
Four former classmates, Philipp, Leonie, Timo and Yasmin arrange reunion over the weekend in one of Philipp's properties. Philipp's wife and daughter ... view
Character:
Doros Chef
Original title: Brüder
2017
A young man is searching for his place in the world. He finds his way, religion and his "brothers" in the radical Islam. What begins with the wish of ... view
Character:
Rainer Welke
Oct 2017 (first aired)
"Bruder - Schwarze Macht" is about the radicalization of the adolescent German-Turkish Melih and his older sister Sibel, who tries to get him out of t ... view
Character:
Bahr (4 ep.)
Oct 2017 (first aired)
Beneath the decadence of 1929 Berlin, lies an underworld city of sin. Police investigator Gereon Rath has been transferred from Cologne to the epicent ... view
Character:
Henning (34 ep.)
Original title: Tigermilch
2017
Best friends Nini and Jameelah are both 14 years old and live in the same housing complex in Berlin. Jameelah's family is from Iraq and might be depor ... view
Character:
Stefan
Original title: In Zeiten des abnehmenden Lichts
2017
Just before the fall of the Berlin Wall, the birthday celebrations of an East German family turn into a tragicomical moment of political and personal ... view
Character:
Original title: Die letzte Sau
2016
Plum out of luck, Swabian farmer Huber’s farm goes under. Then his girlfriend Birgit takes over her father’s newly-acquired firm – in former Eas ... view
Character:
Meier
Jan 2016 (first aired)
England, 19th century: Seth Pilaster runs one of the most influential banking houses in the kingdom. When Hugh Pilaster, the capable and talented youn ... view
Character:
Joseph Pilaster (2 ep.)
2015
Tobias and Flasche are childhood friends. However, their alcoholic friendship is doing more harm than good to Tobias, who realizes he should focus on ... view
Character:
Thomas
2015
An African-German Author loses his memory and is used by a modern National Socialist Party as promotion-figure for more political power over Germany. ... view
Character:
Verfassungsschützer F. – Sachsen
Original title: Fremdkörper
2015
Wolfgang follows a ransom note from his supposed illegal kidney donor Irina back to Istanbul, the city which he would love to erase from memory. Donor ... view
Character:
Wolfgang
Original title: Nackt unter Wölfen
2015
Taking place at the Concentration camp Buchenwald at the end of March 1945, prisoner Hans Pippig discovers in a carrying case of an incoming prisoner ... view
Character:
Hans Bochow
Original title: Von jetzt an kein Zurück
2015
Germany, 1967. Ruby & Martin, a young couple, are rehearsing their uprising. The price is high: expulsion from school, parental violence, and ultimate ... view
Character:
Original title: Bornholmer Straße
2014
A lighthearted look at the opening of the border crossing of Bornholmer Straße in Berlin from the point of view of the confused border guards. ... view
Character:
Manfred
Original title: Wir sind jung. Wir sind stark.
2014
On 24th August 1992 in the eastern German city of Rostock, a rampaging mob, to the applause and cheering of more than 3,000 bystanders, besieged and s ... view
Character:
2014
Four men’s destinies slam into each other and intertwine on four balmy summer nights. Old wounds are reopened, new ones appear, unexpectedly there i ... view
Character:
Bruno
Mar 2014 (first aired)
Helen Dorn is an expert Police Commissioner, who’s years of experience have given her killer instinct when it comes to crime. On the department head ... view
Character:
Wachmann Strauch (1 ep.)
2014
In 2012 German Bundespraesident Christian Wulff declares his resignation in the great hall of Bellevue Palace. At the side of his wife, he had to face ... view
Character:
Martin Heidemanns
Original title: Die goldene Gans
2013
Simpleton is a poor carpenter's apprentice. Everyone makes fun of his naivete. His greatest wish is to make the sad Princess happy. When he gets a Gol ... view
Character:
Räubervater
2013
A young financial auditor, promoted to his first serious position, soon finds himself following in the fatal footsteps of his predecessor. ... view
Character:
Klaus Padberg
2013
Young 19-year-old Hajo wrestles with caring for his 6-month-old son and finding both work and his role of being a father. ... view
Character:
Original title: Silvi
2013
Silvi is in her late forties. Her husband has just left her. Until this point, she was fairly content with her life, but now everything is in ruins. A ... view
Character:
Michael
Original title: Kohlhaas oder die Verhältnismäßigkeit der Mittel
2013
Deep in the Bavarian countryside Kleist’s historical drama Michael Kohlhaas is being shot. But instead of shooting a huge epic with impressive costu ... view
Character:
Herse
2012
A poor peasant woman lives in a cabin in the woods. She grows two rose-trees in front of her house, one with white roses and one with red. When the fl ... view
Character:
Hofrat
2012
One evening in the mid-sixties, Rolf Anschütz, a chef who runs a small restaurant in a town called Suhl in the middle of the East German province of ... view
Character:
Hans Leutner
2012
A nameless man receives phone calls intended for someone else and ends up pretending to be that person, while a female character rebels against her au ... view
Character:
Klaus Rubinstein
Feb 2012 (first aired)
First Police Chief Inspector Vera Lanz, a Munich police detective, attempts to balance her professional and private life. ... view
Character:
Harald Steiner (1 ep.)
Original title: Halt auf freier Strecke
2011
Frank and Simone have fulfilled a dream and live with their two children in a row house in the suburbs. They are a happy couple, until the day Frank i ... view
Character:
2011
What does inclusion mean for classmates, teachers, parents and for the people themselves? The inclusion of Steffi and Paul at the Rousseau School is p ... view
Character:
Heribert Stein
2011
At the age of thirteen, Monette is already forced to realize that money plays an important role in life. As a result of the economic crisis, her fathe ... view
Character:
Frank
2011
Rainer Berg is a frozen food delivery man who has been let down by life. He has withdrawn from the world in order to avoid emotional trauma. His outlo ... view
Character:
Erhard
2011
A portrait of a young woman who can’t find stability in her life. Lena’s relationship has turned into a power struggle; for her, love is all about ... view
Character:
2010
Katja Winzer lives with her eight-year-old son Tobias and her partner Jürgen in a small town near Bremerhaven. When Tobias does not come home one eve ... view
Character:
André Spanuth
Original title: Schwerkraft
2010
The story of a seemingly settled bank employee who breaks the shackles of his everyday life and becomes a wanderer between worlds. Frederik is an up-a ... view
Character:
Kollath
2010
Actually, the young Berlin doctor Jan Büchner wanted to go directly to the Baltic Sea for a week. But a detour forces him to drive over land. And the ... view
Character:
Apotheker Walter
2010
Ex-policeman Eddie is a dedicated private detective blessed with a healthy dose of audacity. His scruffy appearance and unconventional investigative m ... view
Character:
Jörg Hilbert
Original title: So glücklich war ich noch nie
2009
Success is a question of confidence, particularly in times of crisis. Life would be unbearable if there weren’t beautiful things to brighten it up a ... view
Character:
Schlickenrieder
Original title: Novemberkind
2008
Malchow, German Democratic Republic, 1980. 20-year-old Anne is hiding Juri, a deserter of the Red Army. The two fall in love with each other. But thei ... view
Character:
Alexander
2008
In Brunnenberg prison for men, the new warden introduces a revolutionary convict re-socializing project: training guide dogs for the blind. The perks ... view
Character:
Forster
2008
"All Quiet On The Western Front" made the Osnabrück native world-famous in 1929. In 1930, Hollywood made a film of the novel, the Nazis defamed it as ... view
Character:
Chefredakteur der „Sport im Bild“
2008
Even as a young boy, Simon hatched plans to get rid of his sister Sarah, who, as the baby of the family, drew all the love and attention of his parent ... view
Character:
Jo
Original title: Früher oder später
2007
Nora is fourteen and lives with her parents in a quiet Berlin suburb. She is a romantic introvert who spends her day retreated into her own enchanted ... view
Character:
2007
Lena, 17, is restless and desperate. In a few weeks she will finish school, but she doesn't have any definite plans for her future. She wants to make ... view
Character:
Friedrich
2007
Maren Eggert and Matthias Brandt star in this drama about a family, trying to start a new life, which fails because of the mother's mental disease. Af ... view
Character:
Klaus Garbers
2007
The Hotel Lunik is a refuge for a group of radical utopists. In the center of it all, are the Siblings Franz and Babette, who through their anti-capit ... view
Character:
Toni Harmann
Jan 2007 (first aired)
Shows the interaction between Hamburg police officers and paramedics. ... view
Character:
Bernd Wöhler (1 ep.)
Dec 2006 (first aired)
Der Kriminalist is a German television series produced by Monaco Film Hamburg, subsidiary of Odeon Film.
Directors during the first season were Sherr ... view
Character:
Lutz Ebeling (1 ep.)
Jochen Pohl (1 ep.)
Oct 2006 (first aired)
Stolberg is a German detective television series, starring chief inspector Martin Stolberg. The series is more serious and less flashy than other cont ... view
Character:
Manuel Lichtenberg (1 ep.)
Original title: Vier Fenster
2006
They want to get away from each other, but they clasp each other even more firmly. They seek to save appearances at all force. The more they laugh, th ... view
Character:
Vater
Original title: Elementarteilchen
2006
Based on Michel Houellebecq's controversial novel, Atomised (aka The Elementary Particles) focuses on Michael and Bruno, two very different half-broth ... view
Character:
Hubert
2005
Flower seller Leni Bluhm is kind-hearted, but illiterate and not very bright. That's why the single mother can't help her son Dominik at school. His t ... view
Character:
Herr Steiner
Oct 2005 (first aired)
SOKO Donau is an Austrian television series. ... view
Character:
Falk Link (1 ep.)
2005
Annika's life and experiences as a young woman include peculiar sex, an unfortunately cold best friend, a terrible tutor/boyfriend, and a sensible and ... view
Character:
Lehrer Behnke
Original title: Stauffenberg
2004
In 1944, a group of high command officers plot an attempt against Hitler, and one of the leaders of the conspiracy, Stauffenberg, goes to a meeting wi ... view
Character:
Peter Graf Yorck v. Wartenburg
2004
A metropolis sometime in the future. The entire underground rail system is in the hands of a totalitarian transport corporation. Herold used to work a ... view
Character:
2004
A woman travels by train. She is trapped between her memories of a love affair she had ended and her search for freedom. Her destiny depends on the im ... view
Character:
Georg
Oct 2003 (first aired)
The SOKO Köln investigates the cathedral city with humor and often with hard work. Their cases take them into a variety of environments, from the Col ... view
Character:
Lars Beck (1 ep.)
Original title: Schussangst
2003
Dito Tsintsadze's drama focuses on a loner whose life changes dramatically, when he gets to know a beautiful, but strange girl. Lukas, a young man doi ... view
Character:
Krausser
Character:
Frank (1 ep.)
Original title: Halbe Treppe
2002
Christian is a presenter at a small radio station. His wife Katrin directs traffic in a car park. Both are friends with Uwe, who runs a fast food kios ... view
Character:
Christian
Nov 2001 (first aired)
SOKO Kitzbühel is an Austrian television series produced by ORF and ZDF. It is a spin-off of the German crime series SOKO 5113. It is set in the reno ... view
Character:
Stefan Schiener (1 ep.)
Jan 2001 (first aired)
SOKO Leipzig is a German police procedural television programme, a spin-off of the earlier German police programme SOKO 5113. It was first broadcast o ... view
Character:
Volker Hoss (1 ep.)
Oct 2000 (first aired)
Murder, Venice, relationships...it's a delicious concoction in the hands of crime novelist Donna Leon. Venice provides the backdrop for the lush film ... view
Character:
Palazzi (1 ep.)
Piero Sartor (1 ep.)
Apr 1997 (first aired)
Küstenwache is a German television series that tells the fictionalized adventures of a unit of Federal Coast Guard officers off the German coast of t ... view
Character:
Hartmut Schild (1 ep.)
Oct 1995 (first aired)
Stubbe – Von Fall zu Fall is a German crime detective television series starring Wolfgang Stumph as detective Stubbe. It is being broadcast on ZDF, ... view
Character:
Uwe Diepenbrock (1 ep.)
Feb 1995 (first aired)
Georg Wilsberg is an antiquarian in Münster. He used to be a lawyer but lost his license. Since then he has been working as a private detective. The ... view
Character:
Rainer Wiedemann (1 ep.)
Mar 1994 (first aired)
The unlikely police pair Verena Berthold and Otto Garber are part of a special task force investigating organized crime in Berlin. He comes from the e ... view
Character:
Maik Lehmann (1 ep.)
Original title: Oben - Unten
1994
Comedy drama about one of life's perennial losers who finally strikes it lucky with a beautiful woman, but not before experiencing the usual seemingly ... view
Character:
Peet
Dec 1993 (first aired)
Bella Block is a long-running German detective television series starring Hannelore Hoger, first broadcast in 1994 on ZDF. In 2010 the 30th series was ... view
Character:
Peter Liersch (1 ep.)
Character:
Jörg Bauer (1 ep.)
Original title: Stilles Land
1992
A young, naive and enthusiastic theater director named Kai comes to a grim provincial town to put on Beckett's Waiting for Godot. Although the letharg ... view
Character:
Kai Finke
Jun 1971 (first aired)
Polizeiruf 110 is a long-running German language detective television series. The first episode was broadcast 27 June 1971 in the German Democratic Re ... view
Character:
Hannes Iwanowski (1 ep.)
Jan Jürgens (1 ep.)
Nov 1970 (first aired)
Tatort is a long-running German/Austrian/Swiss, crime television series set in various parts of these countries. The show is broadcast on the channels ... view
Character:
Kriminalhauptkommissar Kurt Stich (2 ep.)
Kurt Stich (5 ep.)
Robert Roetgen (1 ep.)
Christof Rüter (1 ep.)
Walter Lemke (1 ep.)
Kommissariatsleiter Kurt Stich (4 ep.)
Christian Wilmots (1 ep.)
Thomas Peters (1 ep.)
Peter Lessing (1 ep.)