Please leave your guess (ONE only, please) in the “Leave a Reply” (comments) box! Or you can tweet it at me. Five clues are below.
1) He was born in 1956 into a theatrical family.
2) He is fluent in 3 languages: English, French, and German.
3) On The Leonard Lopate Show, he revealed that he studied opera for years as a teen/young man, but realized that his voice wasn’t good enough for a career in that field.
4) He is known for playing multi-lingual, smart, and sinister characters (to American audiences).
5) Is one of 10 actors to have won the Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Critics’ Choice Award, Golden Globe Award and SAG Award for the same performance.
Berlin-based actor Daniel Bruhl is one of Europe’s rising stars
Daniel Bruhl (b. 1978) may be a fresh face to you, but has been acting since childhood. He grew up in Barcelona, and is the son of a German father (director Hanno Bruhl) and a Spanish mother. His low-key approach/demeanor and ambiguous (perhaps Everyman?) face made me wonder: “Where is this guy from?”
Bruhl as a young Nazi officer (“Inglorious Basterds”)
You may know Bruhl from Ladies in Lavender (where he co-starred with Judy Dench and Maggie Smith- WOW!!!), The Bourne Ultimatum and Inglorious Basterds (the Tarantino revenge film where Bruhl has a small, yet pivotal, role). His character goes head-to-head with Michael Fassbender! He speaks Catalan, Spanish, German, and English- all fluently (an asset for any actor). At a film fest, I saw Bruhl in 7 Days in Havana, where he plays a suave/shady music promoter.
Juilan Assange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Daniel Berg (Bruhl) in “The Fifth Estate”
Last night, I went to a free pre-screening of The Fifth Estate(out October 18) starring British actor, Benedict Cumberbatch (Atonement, Sherlock, Star Trek: Into Darkness, etc.), and Bruhl. Though it’s tough to create a compelling movie involving laptops, servers, and mussed-up hackers, I felt that BOTH actors created conflicted, multi-dimensional men (who are also real people). The story is seen through Bruhl’s character’s eyes (cashing in on his relatable appeal, no doubt).
Bruhl as Austrian racecar driver Niki Lauda (“Rush”)
Aside from The Fifth Estate, Bruhl has a co-starring role (alongside Australian Chris Hemsworth) in director Ron Howard’s historical/action film- Rush. If only EVERY MAN looked this adorable…
Knightleyemma 