Otto Sander was born in Hannover on June 30th, 1941. After graduating from school and completing the mandatory service in the German army, he enrolled at the University of Munich, where he studied theatre, literature, art history and philosophy.

In 1964, Sander started taking acting classes at the Otto-Falckenbergschule, and in 1965 he gave his stage debut at the Kammerspiele in Düsseldorf. Claus Peymann brought him to the Freie Volksbühne in Berlin in 1968, and from 1970 on, Sander performed at the Schaubühne am Halleschen Ufer. Working with maverick theatre directors like Peymann and Stein, Sander established himself as one of the prolific German stage actors. Throughout the 1970s, he was part of some of the most influential stage productions, among them spectacular works like Robert Wilson's "Death, Destruction & Detroit".

Otto Sander already made his screen debut in 1964, starring in Roland Klick's short "Ludwig". In the 1970s, Sander appeared more frequently in feature films: He was cast in Eric Rohmer's "Die Marquise von O." (1975/76) and also played in Volker Schlöndorff's Award-winnng drama "Die Blechtrommel". He gained great popularity thanks to his memorable performance as a submarine engineer in Wolfgang Petersen's international hit "Das Boot".

Sander was now in high demand as a movie actor: Alongside Bruno Ganz he starred in Wim Wenders' acclaimed drama "Der Himmel über Berlin", and he also got to play Karl Liebknecht in Margarethe von Trotta's "Rosa Luxemburg".

Sander continued working in auteur as well as mainstream cinema. Besides other productions with Wenders, von Trotta and Schlöndorff, he also starred in Joseph Vilsmaier's "Comedian Harmonists" (1997) and, as the narrator, in Tom Tykwer's "Das Parfum. Die Geschichte eines Mörders". Proofing his comedic talent, he returned to the big screen in 2012 playing the main character in Bernd Böhlich's "Bis zum Horizont, dann links!".

Apart from his work in feature films and in the theatre, Sander also frequently performed in high-profile television productions. Moreover, his distinctive voice made him a regular presence in dubbing, on audio books and in literary lectures.

On September 12, 2013 Otto Sander died at the age of 72.