Uwe Kockisch useless: “Donna Leon” actor dies on the age of 81 | EUROtoday

The actor Uwe Kockisch is useless. The long-time theater and tv actor died on Monday in Madrid on the age of 81 on account of lung most cancers, his company introduced, citing his spouse. Kockisch turned greatest often known as Commissario Guido Brunetti within the ARD crime sequence “Donna Leon” and as Stasi officer Hans Kupfer within the award-winning sequence “Weissensee”.

Uwe Kockisch was born on January 31, 1944 in Cottbus. After coaching as an open-cast mining operator, he and mates tried to flee from the GDR in 1961. The group was arrested and Kockisch spent a number of months in custody. He then discovered his first odd jobs on the theater in Cottbus – as a stage hand, doorman and further – and eventually determined to change into an actor. He studied on the “Ernst Busch” Academy of Dramatic Arts in Berlin after which joined the Cottbus Theater, adopted later by engagements in Karl-Marx-Stadt (Chemnitz).

From 1971 onwards, Kockisch was a part of the ensemble of the Maxim Gorki Theater in East Berlin for over 20 years, the place he impressed in classics reminiscent of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” or “Three Sisters” in addition to in fashionable items by Botho Strauß and Peter Handke. After the autumn of the Wall, he moved to the Schaubühne at Lehniner Platz after which labored as a contract actor.

Parallel to the theater, he started his movie and tv profession within the Seventies. Early on he performed in DEFA productions reminiscent of “Still too skinny for love?” (1973) and in 1981 took on the main position in Ulrich Weiß’s anti-fascism drama “Your Unknown Brother”, which additionally obtained worldwide consideration. After reunification, Kockisch turned identified to a large viewers by the ZDF crime sequence “Zappek” (1995–1996), during which he performed an unconventional inspector.

Kockisch celebrated his best successes on tv. From 2003 to 2019 he performed the Venetian investigator Guido Brunetti within the movie variations of the Donna Leon novels in 26 movies. At the identical time, from 2010 to 2018 he performed the Stasi officer Hans Kupfer within the ARD sequence “Weissensee”, for which he was awarded the German Television Prize, amongst different issues.

In 2008 he obtained the Adolf Grimme Prize for Best Actor for Dominik Graf’s tv movie “A City is Blackmailed” (“City for Ransom”). In complete, Kockisch appeared in additional than 100 movie and tv productions, together with “Tatort”, “Polizeiruf 110”, “Rosa Roth” and “SOKO Leipzig”.

Uwe Kockisch was thought of a personality actor with quiet depth, who portrayed characters with psychological depth and sometimes with quiet melancholy. In addition to his digicam and stage work, he labored as a radio play speaker.
Since the 2000s he lived in Madrid together with his spouse Christine Gautier, with whom he had two sons. Between 1995 and 2005 he was in a relationship with the actress Franziska Petri.

In February 2023, Kockisch was one of many first signatories of the “Manifesto for Peace” initiated by Alice Schwarzer and Sahra Wagenknecht.

Uwe Kockisch died on December 22, 2025 in Madrid.