Christian Friedel

Though he has a background as a stage actor, Christian Friedel's performance in 2009's "The White Ribbon" was his very first on the big screen. The German-born actor was delighted to have the chance to audition for the film's director Michael Haneke, who also directed 2007's "Funny Games" and has been quoted as saying, "My films are intended as polemical statements against the American 'barrel down' cinema and its dis-empowerment of the spectator." "The White Ribbon" chronicles the story of a small German town in the years preceding WWI, when a series of bizarre crimes slowly throw the village into turmoil as the townspeople try to determine who is responsible. While gossip and conjecture infect the brains of all the villagers, it is the calm, levelheaded schoolteacher, played by Friedel, who conducts the investigation that gives the audience a lens through which to view the events taking place in the town. Following "The White Ribbon," Friedel had a small role in "Chicken with Plums," directed by Vincent Paronnaud and Marjane Satrapi. In addition to his acting career, Friedel is also an accomplished musician with a number of albums to his name. He plays the piano, composes, and sings, and plans to divide his career between his two passions, acting and music.