Franka Potente
Franka Potente | |
|---|---|
 Franka Potente, October 2005 | |
| Born | Franka Potente July 22, 1974 Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia, West Germany |
| Other names | Franke Potente |
| Occupation(s) | Actress Singer[1] |
| Years active | 1995– |
| Website | http://www.franka-potente.org |
Franka Potente (born July 22, 1974) is a German film actress. She first appeared in the comedy After Five in the Forest Primeval (1995) and gained critical recognition in the action thriller Lola rennt (released in English as Run Lola Run) (1998). Potente received Germany's highest film and television awards for her performances in Run Lola Run and Opernball. After half a decade of critically acclaimed roles in German films, Potente gained Hollywood's attention by playing the role of Barbara Buckley in Blow (2001) and the female lead with Matt Damon in The Bourne Identity (2002).
Early life
The elder of two children, Potente was born in Münster,[2] North Rhine-Westphalia, and raised in nearby Dülmen.[3] Her mother, Hildegard, is a medical assistant, and her father, Dieter Potente, is a teacher.[4] Her Italian surname stems from her great-grandfather, a Sicilian slate mason who emigrated to Germany during the 19th century. At age 17, she spent some months as an exchange student in Humble, Texas, United States.[5]
Career
After finishing high school in Germany, Potente enrolled at the Otto Falckenberg School of Performing Arts in Munich. Potente took acting jobs outside school time and appeared in her first movie in the 1995 student film Aufbruch. She was then spotted by a casting agent and appeared in the film Nach Fünf im Urwald (It's a Jungle Out There), directed by her then-boyfriend, Hans Christian Schmid. She received the 1995 Bavarian Film Prize for Young Talent for her work in this film. She then finished her last year of training at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute in Manhattan.[citation needed]
Potente returned to Europe and worked in German and French films. She was cast as the lead in Lola Rennt (Run Lola Run) after meeting the director, Tom Tykwer, in a café. The part was written for her and although the film was a small-budget, art house film production, it was popular in Europe. Franka Potente also performed on the soundtrack. She made several more German-language films, including the horror film Anatomy and the romantic thriller The Princess and the Warrior also directed by Tykwer.
Potente's first English-language role was that of film editor in Storytelling in 2001. This was followed by a role in Blow, with Johnny Depp, and the female lead in The Bourne Identity, with Matt Damon, which she reprised in The Bourne Supremacy. In 2006, she starred with Eric Bana in the Australian film Romulus, My Father, for which she was nominated for an Australian Film Industry Award for Best Lead Actress. Also in 2006, she wrote and directed Der die Tollkirsche ausgräbt, a silent comedy.
Starting on May 22, 2007, Potente had a three-episode recurring role in FX drama The Shield, where she played Diro Kesakhian, the ruthless Godmother of LA's Armenian Mafia.[6]
In 2009, she appeared in the House M.D. television series two-part episode Broken.
Personal life
When not working on location, Potente lives in Berlin. She has dated director Tom Tykwer and American actor Elijah Wood. In 2008, she became engaged to an American businessman. She told the German tabloid Bild that her fiance's name was Dio Jason Kay Hauser and that they plan on having children.[7] In September 2009, however, the couple separated and the engagement was called off.[8]
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | After Five in the Forest Primeval | Anna | Bavarian Film Award - Best Young Actress |
| 1997 | Coming In | Nina | Television film |
| 1998 | Opernball | Gabrielle Becker | Television film Bavarian TV Award - Best Actress |
| Run Lola Run | Lola | Bambi Award - Best Actress | |
| Bin ich schön? | Linda | ||
| 1999 | Downhill City | Peggy | Television film |
| 2000 | Anatomy | Paula Henning | |
| The Princess and the Warrior | Simone 'Sissi' Schmidt | ||
| 2001 | Blow | Barbara Buckley | |
| Storytelling | Editor | ||
| 2002 | The Bourne Identity | Marie Helena Kreutz | |
| All I Want | Jane | ||
| 2003 | I Love Your Work | Mia | |
| Blueprint | Iris Sellin/Siri Sellin | ||
| Anatomy 2 | Paula Henning | ||
| 2004 | The Bourne Supremacy | Marie Helena Kreutz | |
| Creep | Kate | ||
| 2005 | The Elementary Particles | Annabelle | |
| 2006 | The Shield (television) | Diro Kesakhian | |
| Der die Tollkirsche ausgräbt | Silent black and white movie, written and directed by Franka Potente | ||
| 2007 | Romulus, My Father | Christine Anna Gaita (née Dörr) | |
| The Bourne Ultimatum | Marie Helena Kreutz | Flashbacks only | |
| 2008 | Che | Tamara "Tania" Bunke | |
| 2008 | The Bridge | Elfie Bauer | |
| 2009 | House (television) | Lydia | Episode "Broken" |
| 2010 | Psych (television) | Nadia | Episode "One, Maybe Two, Ways Out" |
| 2010 | Shanghai | Leni | |
| 2011 | The Sinking of the Laconia | Hilda Smith | Television Film - BBC Two productions |
Discography
Singles
- "Believe" (1998)
- "Wish (Komm Zu Mir)" (1998)
- "Easy Day" (1999)
- "Fly With Me" (2001)
Author/books
- 2005: Los Angeles - Berlin. Ein Jahr
- 2006: Der die Tollkirsche ausgräbt, Drehbuch zum Film
- 2009: Kick Ass - Das alternative Workout
- 2010: Zehn: Stories
References
- ^ Discogs Profile
- ^ "Agentur Heppeler". Agenturheppeler.de. Retrieved 2010-10-24.
- ^ "Franka Potente". www.franka-potente.org. 1974-07-22. Retrieved 2010-10-24.
- ^ "Franka Potente Biography (1974-)". Filmreference.com. Retrieved 2010-10-24.
- ^ "Ein Star auf der Suche nach immer Neuem". Berliner Morgenpost. 2005-03-06. Retrieved 2010-10-24.
- ^ Colin Mahan. "Franka Potente joins The Shield". TV.com. Retrieved 2010-10-24.
- ^ Von Iris Rosendahl (2008-08-06). "Franka Potente mit Amerikaner verlobt: „Wir wünschen uns beide Kinder!" - Star News - Unterhaltung - Leute". Bild.de. Retrieved 2010-10-24.
- ^ "Franka Potente: Verlobung aufgelöst - SPIEGEL ONLINE - Nachrichten - Panorama". Spiegel.de. 2009-10-12. Retrieved 2010-10-24.
External links
