Thure Riefenstein

Thure Riefenstein is a German-Serbian actor, writer, and producer who started his career at German Broadway theaters such as the "Berliner Ensemble" or the "Hamburger Schauspielhaus", after graduating drama school. He is best known for playing strong and enigmatic heroes or villains in many feature films and TV series worldwide. Riefenstein has worked with the finest directors such as Academy Winners Steven Soderbergh in Behind the Candelabra (2013), or Jan Sverák in Dark Blue World (2001). He played with Michael Douglas and Matt Damon, guest-starred opposite Academy Award winner Timothy Hutton in Leverage (2008) or Tim Robbins in The Brink (2015). He is a lead in The Crusaders (2001) opposite Academy Award nominees Armin Mueller-Stahl or in Baltic Storm (2003) opposite Golden Globe winners Donald Sutherland and Greta Scacchi. His acclaimed work for TV includes the International Emmy Award-nominated French cloak & dagger movie Julie, chevalier de Maupin (2004), where he starred with Marisa Berenson, Pierre Arditi and Gottfried John. Riefenstein received a "Best Actor" nomination for The Night a Village Vanished (2009), the official German entry for the International Emmy Awards in 2010. He starred as Detective Stefan Deuter in the TV series Kommissarin Lucas (2003), which received the Adolph Grimme Award nomination among others. Thure speaks four languages fluently and is highly versatile with many accents. He loves working on extreme characters such as "Adolf Hitler" in Die Machtergreifung (2012) or Trickster-Villains in action movies such as Jack Hunter and the Lost Treasure of Ugarit (2008), or as the dark, tormented Circus character "Magnus" opposite John Rhys-Davies and Deborah Kara Unger in the feature Sophie & Sheba (2010). He plays the gentle hero in romantic dramas as well as the "quirky Artist" in black comedies such as 666 - Traue keinem, mit dem Du schläfst! (2002). Thure believes any artist, any creative person, should never stop working on his craft. His acting teachers include Doug Warhit, Tim Robbins & Cynthia Ettinger (Actors Gang), Dustin Hoffman ("Masterclass"), Sam Christensen, ACI, Michelle Danner, Kristen Linklater (NY), Nelia Veksel (Russia), Vlad Mugur (Romania). He also works as writer and director, is a graduate of the John Trubys masterclass in screenwriting, and won several awards for "Lonely Nights" and "God Is No Soprano" (writer, director, and producer). Riefenstein is a member of the Deutsche Filmakademie, Germany's Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, and served as a juror for the International Emmy Awards and other film festivals.