Hanns Zischler

Hanns Zischler's work as an author, director, and prolific actor spans six decades, and he has a remarkable 200-plus titles to his credit, including 2005's award-winning "Munich" and the Swedish TV series "Beck." Sent off to boarding school by his businessman father after his mother died, Zischler went on to study philosophy and musicology. Though he appeared in a few shorts in the late 1960s, his screen career didn't pick up any steam until he began to work on a series of German TV movies in the late '70s. Performances as professional men--policemen, veterinarians, and the like--in several German releases eventually led to a part in the memorable World War II drama "Europa Europa." At this point, Zischler began to publish books, including "Day Trips" and "You Can't Judge a Book by Its Cover," and started working on his documentary, "Kafka Goes to the Movies." The film, which Zischler wrote, directed, and shot, takes a speculative look at the influences of early European cinema on the Czech author. Zischler had a bit of an acting renaissance in the 2000s, notably on the Swedish crime saga "Beck," while also working in Steven Spielberg's historical drama "Munich" and the thriller "Ripley's Game."