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Peter Reusse, born February 15, 1941, in Teltow, started to study at Filmhochschule Babelsberg in 1959 and graduated four years later with a diploma. Reusse made his acting debut already during this time in 1960 in the tragicomedy "Das Rabauken-Kabarett". Following his studies, Reusse performed at several GDR theatres until 1970 besided his career as a movie actor. In 1970, he then became a cast member of Deutsches Theater in Berlin.
Because of his looks, Reusse was often cast for youthful roles on stage and in the movies. He played a school boy in "Die aus der 12 b" (1961) or "Die Abenteuer des Werner Holt" ("The Adventures of Werner Holt", 1964), or a prospective father in "Monolog für einen Taxifahrer" (1962). Reusse also played a school boy in his first remarkable leading role: In "Denk bloß nicht, ich heule" (1965), he played the high school student Frank who strongly doubts the socialist form of government – the DEFA film was banned for its critical stance by the GDR regime and was not shown until 1990 after the fall of the Berlin wall.
Because of this "scandal", Reusse did not get any offers for leading roles in the following years but had to settle for key supporting roles. During that time, Reusse focused more on TV productions where he was still able to perform in leading roles. Besides appearances in the popular TV crime series "Polizeiruf 110", Reusse was also seen in ambitious TV dramas such as "Fiete Stein" (1970) or "Heimkehr in ein fremdes Land" (1976). While shooting an episode for "Polizeiruf 110", he also met his wife-to-be Sigrid Göhler who played a detective in the TV series. Their son, Sebastian Reusse, also became an actor.
In 1977, Reusse made a comeback on the big screen with "Ein irrer Duft von frischem Heu" ("A Terrific Scent of Fresh Hay"): This comedy about the adventures of a fortune-teller, that saw Reusse in his first leading role in a movie since 1965, became one of the most successful films of the 1977 GDR movie season. But after his next two DEFA films "Eine Handvoll Hoffnung" (1978) and "Familienbande" (1982) flopped with critics and movie goers alike, Reusse concentrated on TV roles again. His most important works include the mini-series "Kiezgeschichten" (1987), where he played a construction worker in his Berlin neighbourhood. Besides, Reusse also works as dubbing voice and radio play narrator.
During the time of the turnaround and the fall of the Berlin wall, Peter Reusse was politically involved. Among other things, he participated in a committee that tried to bring to light Stasi crimes. Reusse was able to continue his stage and TV career after the reunification of East and West Germany – until he suffered a breakdown during the rehearsals for the production of Eugene O'Neill's play "The Iceman Cometh", shortly before the premiere was due at Deutsches Theater. After this incident, Reusse completely withdrew from acting. Instead, he turned to painting and sculpting. Furthermore, Reusse has published poems and novels.
Peter Reusse died after a short illness June 11, 2022, age 81.
The contents of this entry were funded with the support of the DEFA-Stiftung.