Antoni, Carmen-Maja

Biography:

Carmen-Maja Antoni was born in Berlin on August 23, 1945. She joined the cabaret show Blaue Blitze (Blue Thunderbolts) that aired on East German television when she was 11 years old. From 1962 to 1965, she studied at the Hochschule für Film und Fernsehen “Konrad Wolf ” in Potsdam-Babelsberg (now Film University Potsdam), and she received her first engagement before graduation at the Hans Otto Theater in Potsdam. In 1970, she became a member of the Volksbühne in Berlin, where she worked with renowned directors such as Benno Besson and Matthias Langhoff, and where she became known for her comic and sometimes grotesque performances. In 1975, she joined the Berliner Ensemble, the famous Bertolt Brecht theater, where she became known for her character roles—especially her breeches roles—in performances from Shakespeare to Brecht. Antoni received praise for her outstanding title performance as Mother Courage—which she played over 150 times—in Claus Peymann‘s 2005 Brecht production of Mutter Courage und ihre Kinder (Mother Courage and Her Children).

 

Antoni has also acted on screen for film and television. After playing supporting roles, as in the comedy Der Reserveheld, she played leading roles in two films that were banned in 1965: Denk bloß nicht, ich heule and Fräulein Schmetterling. She has often played 'whimsical' characters and has been cast in children's films.

 

Antoni worked with director Andreas Dresen in his film Nachtgestalten. More recently, she was in the 2009 Oscar-winning film Der Vorleser and the 2010 Oscar-nominee, Das weiße Band, by Michael Haneke. She has performed as Irmtraut Schäffer, a caring mother, in Mord mit Aussicht, one of the most successful German TV crime series, as well as its feature film version, Ein Mord mit Aussicht.

 

Antoni lives in Berlin. She published her autobiography, Im Leben gibt es keine Proben (You Can’t Rehearse Life), in 2013. She has also staged solo programs and readings with her daughter, the actress Jennipher Antoni.

Filmography:

2016 Die 7. Stunde (The Seventh Hour, TV)
2015 Ein Mord mit Aussicht (A Murder with a View, TV)
2014 Krauses Geheimnis (Krause’s Secret, TV)
2014 Miss Sixty
2013 Die letzte Instanz (The Last Resort, TV)
2013 Doc Meets Dorf (TV series)
2012 Das Kindermädchen (The Nanny, TV)
2011 Krauses Braut (Krause’s Bride, TV)
2011 Holger sacht nix (Holger Says Nothing, TV)
2010 Keiner geht verloren (Nobody Gets Lost, TV)
2009 Engel sucht Liebe (Angel Looking for Love, TV)
2009 Das weiße Band (The White Ribbon)
2008 Der Vorleser (The Reader)
2001 Berlin Is in Germany
1999 Nachtgestalten (Night Shapes)
1998 Der Laden (The Store, TV)
1997 Das Leben ist eine Baustelle (Life Is all You Get)
1994-2013 Rosa Roth (TV series)
1988-2007 Polizeiruf 110 (Police Call: 110, TV series)
1988 Verflixtes Mißgeschick! (Darn Misfortune!)
1986 Kindheit (Childhood)
1986 Käthe Kollwitz  Bilder eines Lebens (Käthe Kollwitz: Images of a Life)
1981 Die dicke Tilla (Fat Little Tilla)
1980 Max und siebeneinhalb Jungen (Max and Seven and a Half Boys)
1979 Einfach Blumen aufs Dach (Just Put Flowers on the Roof)
1979 Alle meine Mädchen (All My Girls)
1975 Blumen für den Mann im Mond (Flowers for the Man in the Moon)
1973 Das zweite Leben des Friedrich Wilhelm Georg Platow (The Second Life of Friedrich Wilhelm Georg Platow)
1972 Eolomea (voice actor)
1971 Der Mann, der nach der Oma kam (The Man Who Replaced Grandma)
1970 Zeit der Störche (Time of the Storks)
1968 Wege übers Land (Cross Country Travels, TV series)
1968 Hauptmann Florian von der Mühle (Captain Florian of the Mill)
1965/2005 Fräulein Schmetterling (Miss Butterfly)
1965/90 Das Kaninchen bin ich (The Rabbit Is Me)
1965 Denk bloß nicht, ich heule (Just Don’t Think I’ll Cry)
1964 Der Reserveheld (Hero of the Reserve)

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