Hoppe, Rolf

In Eolomea © DEFA-Stiftung, Alexander Kühn
Biography:
Rolf Hoppe was born in Ellrich, Germany, on December 6, 1930. Although his acting talent was apparent, he had to help out with the family business. In his free time, however, he acted in a drama group. In 1946, he was one of the founding members of a local amateur theater, where his talent as a comedian emerged. Hoppe took private acting classes and was finally accepted at the State Conservatory in Erfurt.
His debut as a professional actor in 1950 was at the theater in Erfurt. He then worked at theaters in Halle, Greifswald, Leipzig, Gera, Berlin, and Dresden (1961-1971, 1976-1984). In the 1980s, Hoppe shared the stage with Klaus Maria Brandauer in Jedermann at the Salzburger Festspiele.
Since the beginning of the 1960s, Hoppe also appeared in East German movie and television productions. Hoppe was mainly type-cast as evil, heavy-weight characters—like in East German Westerns—and he rarely received the opportunity to play more sympathetic roles. In 1965-66, the banning of three of his completed films—Fräulein Schmetterling, Der Frühling braucht Zeit, and Karla, was a blow to his film career.
Hoppe was known for filling both minor and major roles with life. The characters he played—such as King Don Carlos IV in Konrad Wolf’s film Goya, and the Justice of the Peace in Jede Woche Hochzeitstag—were always described as multi-faceted.
After acting in almost 100 East German movies and TV productions, Hoppe finally became internationally-known for his performance as the diabolical General Göring, in István Szabó’s Oscar award-winning movie, Mephisto, based on Klaus Mann’s novel. He worked with many other important directors as well, including Klaus Maria Brandauer (Mario und der Zauberer), Peter Schamoni (Frühlingssinfonie), Joseph Vilsmaier (Comedian Harmonists), Michael Haneke (Wer war Edgar Allan?), Frank Beyer (Der Bruch) and Dani Levy (Alles auf Zucker!).
In 1995, Rolf Hoppe fulfilled one of his dreams: he founded and became the principal of the Hoftheater Dresden in his hometown of Weißig. Hoppe passed away on November 14, 2018.
Festivals & Awards:
2017 | Lifetime Achievement Award, fabulix International Fairy Tale Film Festival, Annaberg-Buchholz, Germany |
2015 | PAULA Award, Progress Filmverleih, Germany |
2010 | Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany |
2008 | Lifetime Achievement Award, DEFA-Stiftung, Germany |
2005 | Goldene Henne for Lifetime Achievement, Germany |
1998 | Adolf Grimme Award for his role in Sardsch, Germany |
1983 | German Film Award in Fold Nominee for his role in Mephisto, Germany |
1981 | Award of Hungarian Film and TV Critics for his role in Mephisto, Hungary |
1971 | Art Prize of the GDR for Goya oder der arge Weg der Erkenntnis |
Filmography:
2011 | Niemandsland - Kein Ziel ist zu weit (No Man’s Land: No Goal Is too Far) |
2011 | Bittere Kirschen (Sour Cherries) |
2009 | Eine Liebe in St. Petersburg (A Love in St. Petersburg, TV) |
2008 | Der Besuch der alten Dame (The Visit, TV) |
2004 | Alles auf Zucker! (Go for Zucker!) |
2001 | La Piovra (The Octopus, TV) |
1999 | Klemperer – Ein Leben in Deutschland (Klemperer – A Life in Germany, TV mini-series) |
1998 | Palmetto |
1997 | Comedian Harmonists (The Harmonists) |
1992 | Mario und der Zauberer (Mario and the Magician) |
1991 | Bronsteins Kinder (Bronstein’s Children) |
1990 | Das Licht der Liebe (The Light of Love) |
1988 | Der Bruch (The Break-In) |
1987 | Johann Strauss – Der König ohne Krone (Johann Strauss – The Uncrowned King) |
1985 | An der Unstrut (On the Unstrut River, narrator) |
1985 | Das Haus am Fluss (The House on the River) |
1985 | Die Gänse von Bützow (The Geese of Buetzow) |
1985 | Wer war Edgar Allan? (Who was Edgar Allan? TV) |
1984 | Hälfte des Lebens (Half of Life) |
1984 | Die Grünstein-Variante (The Grünstein Variant) |
1983 | Frühlingssinfonie (Spring Symphony) |
1983 | Ärztinnen (Women Doctors) |
1981 | Die Gerechten von Kummerow (The Just People of Kummerow) |
1981 | Mephisto |
1980 | Pugowitza (Pugovitsa) |
1979 | Komödianten-Emil (Emil the Comedian) |
1977 | Die Flucht (The Flight) |
1977 | Jörg Maler, Ratgeb (Joerg Ratgeb, Painter) |
1976 | Beethoven – Tage aus einem Leben (Beethoven – Days in a Life) |
1975 | Jede Woche Hochzeitstag (Wedding Day Once a Week, TV) |
1975 | Ikarus (Icarus) |
1974 | Hans Röckle und der Teufel (Hans Roeckle and the Devil) |
1974 | Kit & Co. |
1974 | Slatan Dudow – Ein Filmessay über einen marxistischen Künstler (Slatan Dudow: A Film Essay about a Marxist Artist, narrator) |
1973 | Wie füttert man einen Esel (How Do You Feed a Donkey?) |
1973 | Leben mit Uwe (Living with Uwe) |
1973 | Ulzana |
1973 | Drei Haselnüsse für Aschenbrödel (Three Hazelnuts for Cinderella) |
1973 | Susanne und der Zauberring (Susanne and the Magic Ring) |
1973 | Die Brüder Lautensack (The Lautensack Brothers, TV mini-series) |
1973 | Orpheus in der Unterwelt (Orpheus in the Underworld) |
1972 | Leichensache Zernik (Murder Case Zernik) |
1972 | Eolomea |
1971 | Goya oder der arge Weg der Erkenntnis (Goya, or the Hard Way to Enlightenment) |
1971 | Die gestohlene Schlacht (The Stolen Battle) |
1969 | Nebelnacht (The Foggy Night) |
1969 | Tödlicher Irrtum (Fatal Error) |
1968 | Weiße Wölfe (White Wolves) |
1968 | Spur des Falken (The Falcon’s Trail) |
1968 | Hauptmann Florian von der Mühle (Captain Florian of the Mill) |
1967 | Frau Venus und ihr Teufel (Lady Venus and her Devil) |
1967 | Ich war neunzehn (I Was Nineteen) |
1965/2005 | Fräulein Schmetterling (Miss Butterfly) |
1965 | Der Frühling braucht Zeit (Spring Takes Time) |
1965/90 | Karla (Carla) |
1965 | Die besten Jahre (The Best Years) |