Samuel Finzi

Samuel Finzi
Born
Plovdiv, Bulgaria
OccupationActor
Years active1989-present
SpouseDimitra Petrou (died 2004)
PartnerSorrel Jardine
Children2
FatherItzhak Fintzi

Samuel Finzi (Bulgarian: Самуел Финци) is a Bulgarian-German actor. Since the late 1980s, he has hundreds of film, television, and theatrical credits. He played the title role in the crime series Flemming (2009–2012), and plays a prominent role as a Russian agent in the 2026 Netflix German spy drama series Unfamiliar.

Early life and education

Born in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, Samuel Finzi is the son of actor Itzhak Fintzi.[1] He is of Bulgarian-Jewish descent.[2]

Finzi performed in his first theatre and film roles while still a student.

Career

Finzi has hundreds of film, television, and stage credits from the late 1980s onwards.[3] He moved to Germany in 1989,[4] and soon came into contact with directors who have had a major influence on European theatre and film. He has worked in the theatre with directors such as Benno Besson, Dimiter Gotscheff, Frank Castorf, Jürgen Gosch, and Robert Wilson. In film, his collaborations with Michael Glawogger, Oliver Hirschbiegel, Peter Popzlatev, Sönke Wortmann, and Til Schweiger have extended his popularity to a wider audience. He also played the title role in the crime series Flemming.[5]

Finzi has performed in many film and television productions, including Kokowääh, In Between Days, Même Dieu est venu nous voir ("Even God Came to See Us"), and Vaterspiele ("Father Games").

In 2013 he starred alongside his son, Ezra Finzi, in the movie Aschenbrödel und der gestiefelte Kater.

In 2014, he played six leading roles at the Deutsches Theater,[6]the Maxim Gorki Theater, and the Volksbühne, in Berlin, and at the Schauspielhaus in Leipzig.

In March 2023, he acted in a stage adaptation of A Horse Walked Into a Bar, a 2014 novel by David Grossman. The play toured to the National Theatre in Sofia.[4]

Finzi plays a Russian agent in the 2026 Netflix German spy drama series Unfamiliar.[7]

Awards

Finzi has received several awards for his acting, including the Berlin Theatre Prize in 2011.[8] Between 1993 and 2011, he received ten acting awards.[3]

These include:

  • 1993: Critics' Prize for Best New Actor in Nordrhein-Westfalen for The Seagull
  • 1994: 13th Theater Festival NRW: Prize for Best New Actor for The Seagull
  • 1995: Critics’ Prize: Best Actor of the Year in Nordrhein-Westfalen for The Cherry Orchard and Swan Songs
  • 1996: Advancement Award for Dramatic Arts of the city of Düsseldorf for Ein Monat in Dachau (A Month in Dachau)
  • 2001: Golden Chest, Best Male Performer, International Television Festival Plovdiv, Bulgaria for Devil’s Tail
  • 2009: Best Actor at the Mess Theater Festival Sarayevo for Ivanov
  • 2010: Best Actor at the MOT Theater Festival Skopje for Diary of a Madman
  • 2011: Best Actor at the Skena Up Theater Festival Pristina for Diary of a Madman
  • 2011: German Comedy Prize in the category Film Comedy for Kokowääh
  • 2011: Theater Prize Berlin 2011, Prussian Maritime Trading Foundation, for his entire work in the theater

Personal life

Finzi was married to Dimitra Petrou for 14 years before she was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2004, and died within 20 hours, aged 39.[9][10]

He has two children with French casting director Sorrel Jardine.[10]

Selected filmography

Film

  • 1989: Moi, la Comtesse (Director: Petar Popzlatev)
  • 1989: Parcheta lyubov (Director: Ivan Tscherkelov)
  • 1989: Razvodat predi i Razvodat sega (Director: Georgi Jacky Stoev)
  • 1989: Razvodi, razvodi... (Director: Kosta Bikov)
  • 1990: Das Lager (Director: Georgi Djulgerov)
  • 1990: Nemirnata ptitza lyubov (Director: Rangel Vulchanov)
  • 1994: Die verbotene Frucht (Director: Krasimir Krumov)
  • 1998: Die Unschuld der Krähen (Director: Horst Johann Sczerba)
  • 1998: Sofia – Sick of it all (Director: Nils Willbrandt)
  • 1998: Und alles wegen Mama (Director: Hermine Huntgeburth)
  • 2000: The Farewell (Director: Jan Schütte)
  • 2000: Deutschlandspiel (Director: Hans-Christoph Blumenberg)
  • 2000: Now or Never: Time Is Money (Director: Lars Büchel)
  • 2000: Stunde der Wahrheit (Director: Matthias Tiefenbacher)
  • 2000: Perfect Sight (Director: Sören Voigt)
  • 2001: Auf Herz und Nieren (Director: Thomas Jahn)
  • 2001: The Devil’s Tail (Director: Dimitar Petkov)
  • 2001: Même Dieu est venu nous voir (Director: Peter Popzlatev)
  • 2001: Posseteni ot gospoda (Director: Peter Popzlatev)
  • 2001: Santa ein Weihnachtsmärchen (Director: Jophi Ries)
  • 2002: Blueberry Hill (Director: Aleksandr Morfov)
  • 2002: Gebürtig (Director: Lukas Stepanik und Robert Schindel)
  • 2002: Rapsodiya v byalo (Director: Tedi Moskov)
  • 2003: Das Wunder von Bern (Director: Sönke Wortmann)
  • 2003: Hamlet X (Director: Herbert Fritsch)
  • 2003: In schlechter Gesellschaft (Director: Michael Karen)
  • 2004: Delphinsommer (Director: Jobst Oetzmann)
  • 2005: Aller Tage Abend (Director: Andreas Schimmelbusch)
  • 2005: Just an Ordinary Jew (Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel)
  • 2005: Measures to Better the World (Director: Jakob Hüfner and Jörn Hintzer)
  • 2007: Der Totenwächter (Director: Ilian Simeonov)
  • 2007: Geburtstag (Director: Lawrence Tooley)
  • 2007: Family Rules (Director: Marc Meyer)
  • 2008: In Between Days (Director: Lola Randl)
  • 2008: Helden aus der Nachbarschaft (Director: Jovan Arsenic)
  • 2008: KDD – Kriminaldauerdienst: Letzte Chance (Director: Andreas Prochaska)
  • 2009: Das Vaterspiel (Director: Michael Glawogger)
  • 2009: Die Liebe und Viktor (Director: Patrick Banush)
  • 2009: Lackschaden (Director: Michael Schneider)
  • 2009: Pink (Director: Rudolf Thome)
  • 2010: Aghet – Ein Völkermord (Director: Eric Friedler)
  • 2010: Headshots (Director: Lawrence Tooley)
  • 2010: Holy Light (Director: Georgi Tenev)
  • 2010: Mondwärts (Director: Aron Lehmann)
  • 2011: Men in the City 2 (Director: Simon Verhoeven)
  • 2011: Kokowääh (Director: Til Schweiger)
  • 2011: Short for Vernesa B. (Director: Jons Vukorep)
  • 2012: Alexander Granach – Da geht ein Mensch (Director: Angelika Wittlich)
  • 2012: The Rhino and the Dragonfly (Director: Lola Randl)
  • 2012: Ludwig II (Director: Peter Sehr)
  • 2012: Rückkehr von den Sternen (Director: Franz Müller)
  • 2012: The Color of the Chameleon (Director: Emil Hristow)
  • 2013: Aschenbrödel und der gestiefelte Kater (Director: Thorsten Künstler)
  • 2013: George (Director: Joachim A. Lang)
  • 2013: Kokowääh 2 (Director: Til Schweiger)
  • 2013: Oktober/November (Director: Götz Spielmann)
  • 2013: Generation War (Unsere Mütter, unsere Väter) (Director: Philipp Kadelbach)
  • 2014: The Invention of Love (Director: Lola Randl)
  • 2014: The Bridges of Sarajevo (Director: Kamen Kalev)
  • 2014: Worst Case Scenario (Director: Franz Müller)
  • 2015: Punk Berlin 1982 (Director: Oskar Roehler)
  • 2016: Fritz Lang (Director: Gordian Maugg)
  • 2016: Marie Curie: The Courage of Knowledge (Director: Marie Noëlle)
  • 2017: The Captain (Der Hauptmann) (Director: Robert Schwentke)
  • 2018: Meine teuflisch gute Freundin (Director: Marco Petry)
  • 2018: Klassentreffen 1.0 (Director: Til Schweiger)
  • 2018: Herrliche Zeiten (Director: Oskar Roehler)
  • 2020: The Wedding (Director: Til Schweiger)
  • 2023: Seneca – On the Creation of Earthquakes (Director: Robert Schwentke)
  • 2024: The Black Sea (Director: Crystal Moselle)

TV

  • 2001: Studers erster Fall (TV film) (Director: Sabine Boss)
  • 2002: Am Ende der Hochzeitsnacht (TV film) (Director: Olaf Kreinsen)
  • 2003: Schimanski: Asyl (TV series) (Director: Edward Berger)
  • 2006–2012: Tatort (TV series)
  • 2006: Kunstfehler (TV film) (Director: Marcus O. Rosenmüller)
  • 2009: Ein Sommer mit Paul (TV film) (Director: Claudia Garde)
  • 2009: Sieben Tage (TV film) (Director: Petra K. Wagner)
  • 2009–2012: Flemming (TV series)
  • 2010: Die Akte Golgatha (TV film, Director: Zoltan Spirandelli)
  • 2026: Unfamiliar (TV series)

Theatrography (selection)

References

  1. ↑ Parini, Elsa (8 April 2017). "Ицко Финци стана баща на 83 години" [Itsko Finci became a father at the age of 83]. Lifeonline.bg (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 20 October 2023. Ицко Финци има и син – известния актьор Самуел Финци, роден от брака с първата му съпруга – пианистката Гина Табакова.
  2. ↑ Hanson-Firestone, Dana (9 December 2019). "10 Things You Didn't Know About Samuel Finzi". TVovermind. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  3. 1 2 "Samuel Finzi | berliner-ensemble". www.berliner-ensemble.de. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  4. 1 2 Finzi, Samuel (1 March 2023). "The extenuating circumstances of Samuel Finzi". Vrijmag (Interview). Interviewed by Dimitrov, Ivan.
  5. ↑ Jüttner, Julia. "Finzi: The woman whisperer" Spiegel Online Panorama, 13 May 2011
  6. ↑ Samuel Finzi at Deutsches Theater Berlin (in German)
  7. ↑ Oltermann, Philip (13 March 2026). "Hit Netflix series has Germany's spy agency dreaming of a less gaffe-prone future". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  8. ↑ "Samuel Finzi". Divadlo Na zábradlí. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  9. ↑ "Nach 20 Stunden gestorben: Samuel Finzi über Tod seiner Frau". www.promiflash.de (in German). 12 March 2020. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  10. 1 2 "2024 - Samuel Finzi: Why he scattered his first wife's ashes in the sea". 11 March 2020. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
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