Biography:

Peter Reusse was born in Teltow, Germany on February 15, 1941. From 1959 until 1963, he studied at the Academy for Film and Television in Potsdam-Babelsberg. He worked as a freelance actor at different theaters around the GDR—including in Zeitz, Halle and Brandenburg—until he joined the Deutsches Theater in East Berlin in 1970.

At the same time, Reusse became known as a film actor, where he was prized for his youthful charm; the press even called him the James Dean of the East.

One of his first important roles was in the WWII classic Die Abenteuer des Werner Holt. His first leading role was his portrayal of the maladjusted student Peter Neumann in Denk bloß nicht, ich heule. This film aptly captured the problems of the young East Germans—perhaps too clearly, as the film was banned and did not premiere until 1990. Reusse has worked with many well-known directors, including Sergei Gerasimov, Frank Vogel and Joachim Kunert.

Reusse was also known for his comic talent, with an especially good feel for situational comedy. In this vein, he played the farmer, Mattes, opposite Ursula Werner in the box office success Ein irrer Duft von frischem Heu by Roland Oehme. Reusse also took on many challenging television roles, including the lead in Bernhard Seeger's Fiete Stein and roles in many episodes of the popular crime series Polizeiruf 110.

After the fall of the Wall, Reusse became politically involved in the Citizens' Group for Investigations of Stasi Crimes. He stopped acting because of health problems. Since 1993, he has concentrated on other talents, including painting and sculpting, and writing poetry, novels and screenplays. Peter REusse lives in Berlin.