• Son of a Swiss worker and his Northern Italian wife.
• February 1996: Ganz inherits the mysterious Iffland-Ring from Josef Meinrad, which is given to the most important actor of German speaking theatre since 200 years.

Bruno Ganz debuted at the theatre in 1961 and gained there a good reputation as a solid, young actor. In 1970 he founded with 'Peter Stein' the theatre company "Schaubuehne" of Berlin. His debut at the movies was early and unsuccessful in 1960. Only in 1975 after "Sommergaeste (1975)" he could show his talent as a reflexive actor with tendencies towards introspection.