Alexandra Maria Lara
Encyclopedia
Alexandra Maria Lara is a Romania
n-born German
actress. She performs predominantly in leading roles in a variety of historical and crime film
s. Lara is best known for her roles in Control (2007), Youth Without Youth (2007), Nackt (2002), Downfall
(2004), About the Looking for and the Finding of Love (2005), and The Reader (2008).
, Lara is the only child of Valentin Plătăreanu
, a Bucharest
actor, and his wife, Doina, a homemaker. When she was four (in 1983) her family decided to flee to West Germany
to escape Nicolae Ceauşescu
's regime in Communist Romania
. Although the family had originally planned to emigrate to Canada
, they settled down in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg
, before eventually moving to Berlin
.
After graduating at the Französisches Gymnasium Berlin
in 1997, Lara went on studying acting under the management of her father, co-founder of the Theaterwerkstatt Charlottenburg, until 2000.
Her most famous role to date, which has resulted in international recognition, is as Traudl Junge
, Adolf Hitler
's secretary, in the Oscar
-nominated 2004 film Der Untergang (Downfall).
Due to her convincing performance in Der Untergang, Francis Ford Coppola
wrote her a letter and gave her a leading role in Youth Without Youth (2007).
In 2007 she also appeared as journalist Annik Honoré in the film Control, the Ian Curtis
biopic.
In 2008, she served as a member of the Cannes Film Festival
jury.
She played a lead role in Greek director Theo Angelopoulos
's 2008 film The Dust of Time
, opposite Irène Jacob
and Bruno Ganz
.
Speaking French
fluently, she also appeared in several French productions, including Napoléon
and L'Affaire Farewell
.
More recently, she appeared in The Reader and Der Baader Meinhof Komplex
which were both nominated for the 81st Academy Awards (best picture and best foreign language film, respectively).
Alexandra is fluent in Romanian, German, French and English.
with whom she acted in the movie Control.
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n-born German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
actress. She performs predominantly in leading roles in a variety of historical and crime film
Crime film
Crime films are films which focus on the lives of criminals. The stylistic approach to a crime film varies from realistic portrayals of real-life criminal figures, to the far-fetched evil doings of imaginary arch-villains. Criminal acts are almost always glorified in these movies.- Plays and films...
s. Lara is best known for her roles in Control (2007), Youth Without Youth (2007), Nackt (2002), Downfall
Downfall (film)
Downfall is a 2004 German/Italian/Austrian epic war film directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel, depicting the final ten days of Adolf Hitler's life in his Berlin bunker and Nazi Germany in 1945....
(2004), About the Looking for and the Finding of Love (2005), and The Reader (2008).
Early life
Born in BucharestBucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
, Lara is the only child of Valentin Plătăreanu
Valentin Platareanu
Valentin Plătăreanu is a Romanian actor, director and drama teacher.-Biography:From 1958 to 1980, he played more than 30 parts at the National Theatre Bucharest, and has served as their Deputy Director...
, a Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
actor, and his wife, Doina, a homemaker. When she was four (in 1983) her family decided to flee to West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
to escape Nicolae Ceauşescu
Nicolae Ceausescu
Nicolae Ceaușescu was a Romanian Communist politician. He was General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and as such was the country's second and last Communist leader...
's regime in Communist Romania
Communist Romania
Communist Romania was the period in Romanian history when that country was a Soviet-aligned communist state in the Eastern Bloc, with the dominant role of Romanian Communist Party enshrined in its successive constitutions...
. Although the family had originally planned to emigrate to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, they settled down in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
, before eventually moving to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
.
After graduating at the Französisches Gymnasium Berlin
Französisches Gymnasium Berlin
The Französisches Gymnasium — Collège Français Berlin is a long-existing francophone gymnasium in Berlin, Germany.-History:It was founded in 1689 by Elector Frederick III of Brandenburg for the children of the Huguenot families who had settled in Brandenburg-Prussia by his invitation, being...
in 1997, Lara went on studying acting under the management of her father, co-founder of the Theaterwerkstatt Charlottenburg, until 2000.
Career
By age sixteen she was already playing lead roles in various television dramas. Since then her career has developed and she has become a respected film actress.Her most famous role to date, which has resulted in international recognition, is as Traudl Junge
Traudl Junge
Traudl Junge was Adolf Hitler's youngest personal private secretary, from December 1942 to April 1945.-Early life:...
, Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
's secretary, in the Oscar
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
-nominated 2004 film Der Untergang (Downfall).
Due to her convincing performance in Der Untergang, Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. He is widely acclaimed as one of Hollywood's most innovative and influential film directors...
wrote her a letter and gave her a leading role in Youth Without Youth (2007).
Ian Curtis
Ian Kevin Curtis was an English singer and lyricist, famous for leading the post-punk band Joy Division. Joy Division released their debut album, Unknown Pleasures, in 1979 and recorded their follow-up, Closer, in 1980...
biopic.
In 2008, she served as a member of the Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
jury.
She played a lead role in Greek director Theo Angelopoulos
Theo Angelopoulos
Theodoros Angelopoulos is a Greek filmmaker, screenwriter and film producer.-Life:Angelopoulos studied law at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, but after his military service went to Paris to attend the Sorbonne. He soon dropped out to study film at the IDHEC before returning...
's 2008 film The Dust of Time
The Dust of Time
The Dust of Time is a film by Theodoros Angelopoulos shown on 12 February 2009 at the 59th Berlin International Film Festival and well received by critics....
, opposite Irène Jacob
Irène Jacob
Irène Marie Jacob is a French-born Swiss actress considered one of the preeminent French actresses of her generation. Jacob gained international recognition and acclaim through her work with Polish film director Krzysztof Kieślowski, who cast her in the lead role of The Double Life of Véronique...
and Bruno Ganz
Bruno Ganz
Bruno Ganz is a Swiss actor, known for his roles as Damiel in Wings of Desire and Adolf Hitler in Downfall.- Early life :Bruno Ganz was born in Zürich to a Swiss mechanic father and a northern Italian mother. He had decided to pursue an acting career by the time he entered university...
.
Speaking French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
fluently, she also appeared in several French productions, including Napoléon
Napoléon (miniseries)
Napoleon is a historical miniseries which explored the life of Napoleon Bonaparte. In 2002, it was the most expensive television miniseries in Europe, costing the equivalent of $US46,330,000 to produce. The miniseries covered Napoleon's military successes and failures, including the Battles of...
and L'Affaire Farewell
L'affaire Farewell
L'affaire Farewell is a 2009 French film directed by Christian Carion, starring Guillaume Canet and Emir Kusturica. The film is an espionage thriller loosely based on actions of the high-ranking KGB official, Vladimir Vetrov. It was released in the United States in June 2010, under the title...
.
More recently, she appeared in The Reader and Der Baader Meinhof Komplex
Der Baader Meinhof Komplex
The Baader Meinhof Complex is a 2008 German film by Uli Edel. Written and produced by Bernd Eichinger, it stars Moritz Bleibtreu, Martina Gedeck and Johanna Wokalek. The film is based on the 1985 German best selling non-fiction book of the same name by Stefan Aust...
which were both nominated for the 81st Academy Awards (best picture and best foreign language film, respectively).
Alexandra is fluent in Romanian, German, French and English.
Personal life
In August 2009 she married actor Sam RileySam Riley
Sam Riley is an English actor and singer.-Early life:Riley was born in Menston in the Metropolitan District of Bradford in West Yorkshire, the son of "a textile agent and nursery-school teacher". He was educated at Uppingham School...
with whom she acted in the movie Control.
Filmography
- Sperling und der falsche Freund (1997)
- Südsee, eigene Insel (1999)
- Vertrauen ist alles (2000)
- Fisimatenten (2000)
- Der TunnelDer TunnelDer Tunnel is a made-for-television German film released in 2001 and loosely based on true events in Berlin followingthe closing of the East German border in August 1961 and the subsequent construction of the Berlin Wall....
(2001) - Honolulu (2001)
- Leo und Claire (2001)
- Liebe und Verrat (2002, TV)
- Was nicht passt, wird passend gemacht (2002)
- 99 Euro Films (2002)
- NapoléonNapoléon (miniseries)Napoleon is a historical miniseries which explored the life of Napoleon Bonaparte. In 2002, it was the most expensive television miniseries in Europe, costing the equivalent of $US46,330,000 to produce. The miniseries covered Napoleon's military successes and failures, including the Battles of...
(2002) - Doctor ZhivagoDoctor Zhivago (TV serial)Doctor Zhivago is a 2002 British television serial directed by Giacomo Campiotti and starring Keira Knightley and Sam Neill. The teleplay by Andrew Davies is based on the 1957 novel of the same title by Boris Pasternak....
(2002) - Schleudertrauma (2002)
- Nackt (2002)
- Trenck (2003)
- Der Wunschbaum (2004)
- Leise Krieger (2004)
- Der Untergang (The Downfall) (2004)
- Cowgirl (2004)
- OffsetOffset (film)Offset is a 2006 film Drama directed and written by Didi Danquart. It was filmed in Bucharest.-Plot:The plot goes around the lives of the soon to be married Stefan a German working in Romania for a wealthy and exentric printing company owner, Nicu Iorga and Brindusa Alexandra Maria Lara Nicu's...
(2005) - Der Fischer und seine Frau (2005)
- Vom Suchen und Finden der Liebe (2005)
- Wo ist Fred? (2006)
- I Really Hate My JobI Really Hate My Job- External links :*...
(2007) - Control (2007)
- The CompanyThe Company (TV miniseries)The Company is a miniseries about the activities of the CIA during the Cold War. It was based on the best selling novel by Robert Littell. The teleplay adaptation was written by Ken Nolan.-Plot:...
(2007) - Youth Without Youth (2007)
- The City of Your Final DestinationThe City of Your Final DestinationThe City of Your Final Destination is a novel by American writer Peter Cameron. Most of the story takes place in a small town in Uruguay. However, the Uruguay of the novel bears little relation to the geography or culture of the real country...
(2008) - Miracle at St. AnnaMiracle at St. AnnaMiracle at St. Anna is a 2008 war film, directed by Spike Lee and written by James McBride, based on McBride's novel of the same name. The film was released on September 26, 2008, and is set during World War II, in fall of 1944 in Tuscany and in the winter of 1983 in New York City and Rome...
(2008) - Der Baader Meinhof KomplexDer Baader Meinhof KomplexThe Baader Meinhof Complex is a 2008 German film by Uli Edel. Written and produced by Bernd Eichinger, it stars Moritz Bleibtreu, Martina Gedeck and Johanna Wokalek. The film is based on the 1985 German best selling non-fiction book of the same name by Stefan Aust...
(2008) - The Dust of TimeThe Dust of TimeThe Dust of Time is a film by Theodoros Angelopoulos shown on 12 February 2009 at the 59th Berlin International Film Festival and well received by critics....
(2008) - The Reader (2008)
- Hinter Kaifeck (Kaifeck Murder) (2009)
- L'affaire FarewellL'affaire FarewellL'affaire Farewell is a 2009 French film directed by Christian Carion, starring Guillaume Canet and Emir Kusturica. The film is an espionage thriller loosely based on actions of the high-ranking KGB official, Vladimir Vetrov. It was released in the United States in June 2010, under the title...
(2009) - City of LifeCity of LifeCity of Life is a 2009 multilingual Emirati film written, directed, and produced by Ali F. Mostafa. Set in the United Arab Emirates, the film revolves around three parallel lives, amongst many cultures in one city, namely, Dubai.- Plot :...
(2009) - The Nazi Officer's WifeThe Nazi Officer's WifeThe Nazi Officer's Wife: How One Jewish Woman Survived the Holocaust is a 1999 autobiography by Austrian-born Edith Hahn-Beer. Written with the help of Susan Dworkin, the book's first edition was published by Rob Weibach Books/William Morrow...
(2010) - Quartier lointain (2010)