Christian Redl was born in Schleswig on April 20th 1948. Raised in Kassel, he later studied at the acting school in Bochum, followed by theatre engagements in Wuppertal, Frankfurt and – between 1980 and 1993 – Hamburg, where he played under the direction of Claus Peymann, Luc Bondy and Peter Zadek, starring for instance in Brecht's "Three Penny Opera" and Tennessee Williams" "A Streetcar Named Desire".

In 1987, Redl gave his screen debut in Uwe Schrader's "Sierra Leone", playing a truck driver returning from Africa only to find himself unable to continue his former life in Germany. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, he starred in several acclaimed TV productions by director Bernd Schadewald: He won a Grimme Award for his portrayal of police officer Erich Rohloff in "Der Hammermörder" (1989) garnered more nominations for his performance in "Angst", and later also played alongside Moritz Bleibtreu and Nicolette Krebitz in Schadewald's "Kinder des Satans" (1995).

Over the years, Redl, who is often cast as a policeman or tough guy, has appeared numerous times in popular German crime series and TV movies. His continuing love for theatre was displayed in the semi-documentary features "Hundert Jahre Brecht" by Ottokar Runze and "Bertold Brecht – Liebe, Revolution und andere gefährliche Sachen" by Jutta Brückner, which were both released in 1997.

His preference for challenging roles also remained evident in his screen work: He played a cruel domestic tyrant in "Lea" (1996) and convinced as a hard-boiled cop in Robert Schwentke's thriller "Tattoo" (2002). In Oliver Hirschbiegel's epic and much-discussed dramatic account of the last days of Nazi Germany, "Der Untergang" ("Downfall", 2004), Redl played German general Alfred Jodl, joining an all-star-cast including Bruno Ganz, Alexandra Maria Lara and Ulrich Matthes.

In 2007, he played the father of "Yella" in the eponymous film by Christian Petzold, and one year later, he appeared as a master of black magic arts in the spectacular adaptation of Otfried Preußler's fantasy classic "Krabat".

Apart from a supporting role as the Abbot of Fulda in "Die Päpstin" ("Pope Joan", 2009), Redl appeared exclusively in television productions in the following years. He had guest roles in numerous series as well as leading and supporting roles in various television dramas. For example, he played a criminal provincial policeman in "Tod in der Eifel" (2008), an old Nazi and miner in the post-war drama "Der Uranberg" (2010) and the vengeful father of a murder victim in "Marie Brand und die offene Rechnung" (2013), a role for which he received the Acting Award of the German Television Academy. In 2014, Redl's performance in the drama "Schuld um Schuld" ("Burden's Weight") won him the Best Actor award at the Short Film Festival in Badalona, Spain. In the same year, he released a music album with original songs entitled 'Sehnsucht' (Yearning).   

In the TV two-parter "Grzimek" (2015), Redl played the director of the Frankfurt Zoo, Gustav Lederer. In Kai Wessel's comedy "Frau Roggenschaub's Reise" (2015), he was the unfaithful husband of the title character (Hannelore Hoger). In Francis Meletzky's highly acclaimed drama "Verräter - Tod am Meer" (2017), he played a somewhat inscrutable citizen of the GDR with contacts to important offices of the Stasi. He also continued to play the title role of Chief Inspector Krüger in the crime series "Spreewaldkrimi."   

In September 2018, Redl returned to the big screen after almost ten years: In Joachim Lang's high-caliber theatrical adaptation " Mackie Messer - Brechts Dreigroschenfilm" ("Mackie Messer - Brecht's Threepenny Film"), he played police chief Tiger Brown.

After various television appearances, including as an undercover agent in the thriller "Flucht durchs Höllental" (2019) and as a neighborhood bigwig in the "Tatort" episode "Totentanz" (2021), Redl joined the cast of the gritty GDR drama "Nahschuss" ("The Last Execution") as the father of the main character, which was released in theaters in 2021.