Peter Kurth

Kurth was born on 4 April 1957 in Güstrow, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, East Germany.^[1] Growing up in Goldberg, he frequently visited the local movie theater, later citing it as an influence on his decision to become an actor.^[2] He attended the state drama school in Rostock from 1978 to 1981.^[1]

After graduating from drama school, Kurth performed at Theater für junge Leute in Magdeburg from 1981 to 1984 and at Theater der Altmark [de] in Stendal from 1984 to 1988. He then moved to Karl-Marx-Stadt (Chemnitz), where he performed at Städtisches Theater.^[1] In 1997, Kurth joined the Schauspiel Leipzig [de] in Leipzig, where he also taught drama.^[3] He moved to Hamburg in 2000 to perform at the Thalia Theater.^[4] He joined the Maxim Gorki Theater in Berlin in 2006, and later transferred to the Stuttgart Drama Theater.^[4][2]

Kurth was named Actor of the Year by the German theater magazine Theater heute in 2014.^[2] He won the German Film Award for Best Actor, as well as the Deutscher Schauspielpreis [de] (German Actor Award), for the 2015 film A Heavy Heart in which he played Herbert, a boxer diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).^[5][6] Kurth prepared extensively for the role, gaining 35 pounds (16 kg) in the months before filming to physically resemble a former boxer, before losing his newly gained weight over the course of the 35-day shoot to portray Herbert's ALS progression.^[7] Scott Roxborough of The Hollywood Reporter called Kurth's portrayal of Herbert an "acting master class".^[7]

In 2018, Kurth was nominated for the Deutscher Fernsehpreis award for Best Actor, for his role as Detective Bruno Wolter in the German neo-noir television series Babylon Berlin.^[8]

Kurth is married and has two children.^[3]