Thorsten Merten

Thorsten Merten born December 4 1963 in Ruhla is a German actor Thorsten Merten originally intended to become a journalist and initially worked as a trainee at the newspaper Das Volk After completing his military service he underwent acting training from 1986 to 1990 at the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts in Berlin where he attended the newly established cabaret department and graduated with a diploma in cabaret performance This was followed by engagements at various theaters both at home and abroad including the Théâtre Vidy in Lausanne the Staatstheater Schwerin the Maxim Gorki Theater Berlin the Volksbühne Berlin and the Deutsches Theater Berlin For his stage work he was awarded the Conrad Ekhof Prize in 1999 His notable stage roles include McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest the Ghost in Hamlet as well as roles in Ivanov Prometheus and Sonnenallee In 2024 he played the role of operations manager Kuckuck in the operetta Messeschlager Gisela at the Komische Oper Berlin Merten gained his first experience in front of the camera in 1992 in Andreas Dresens film Stilles Land He achieved his breakthrough in 2001 with the tragicomedy Halbe Treppe Grill Point also directed by Dresen Since then he has appeared regularly in both feature films and television productions Merten also gained recognition through roles in Wilsberg Afrika mon amour Bella Block Helen Dorn Donna Leon and numerous episodes of Tatort From 2013 to 2021 he played the role of precinct chief Stich in the Weimarbased Tatort series Since 2009 he has portrayed Chief Inspectorlater Police CommissionerMartin Fichte in the ZDF series Spreewaldkrimi He has also played lead roles in other productions including Silvi and Fremdkörper In 2021 he received the German Film Award for his supporting role in Curveball Wir machen die Wahrheit Furthermore Merten came up with the idea for the Netflix series Das letzte Wort in which he appeared alongside Anke Engelke