He grew up in a small apartment without a refrigerator, telephone, or modern toilet until he was a teenager.
He was skinny, beaten by his father, and faced a childhood that would have crushed most people’s dreams. Yet, he found a way out — through sheer determination, discipline, and a relentless drive for self-improvement.
Today, everyone knows his name — and it carries a level of respect that few actors or human beings can claim.
On July 30, 1947, this actor entered the world. His alcoholic father, Gustav, was a authoritarian man who worked as the local chief of police. The father was also a member of the Nazi Party and served in theaters of the World War II where atrocities were committed, according to scholars.