Gerhard Olschewski

Multi-award-winning German actor Gerhard Olschewski has appeared in over 100 roles in his forty-plus year career. Though he debuted in the forgettable 1966 made-for-TV movie "Der Nachtjackenviertel," he was destined for greatness. He won his first German Film Award in 1976 for his Outstanding Individual Achievement in "Verlorenes Leben," the somber story of a 1927 police initiative to pin a murder on an innocent migrant worker. Olschewski also claimed a Best Actor prize at the Berlin International Film Festival for his lead performance in the movie. No stranger to accolades, Olschewski was recognized again in 1979 by the prestigious Sitges Film Festival for his performance in the thriller "Der Mörder." In 1983, Olschewski played the eponymous truck-driver in the incestuous drama "Eisenhans," and was duly honored again by the German Film Awards. A subsequent lack of award-caliber material didn't slow down the distinctive weathered-faced and mustachioed actor, however. Since the mid '80s, Olschewski has made multiple small screen performances per year, including recurring roles as Chief Ossmann on the police procedural "Tatort," and as a caretaker in high school serial "Unser Lehrer Doktor Specht." He also starred as the family patriarch in the TV drama "Immer wieder Sonntag," which ran from 1993 to 1996.