Werner Senftleben, born February 16, 1925, in Berlin, attended actor"s training at Schauspielschule Schneider-Wienecke in Berlin from 1948 to 1950. In 1950, he started his stage career at the theatre in Bernburg-Straßfurt and made his appearances in minor movie roles, for instance in Slatan Dudow"s "Stärker als die Nacht" (1954), in Kurt Jung-Alsen"s "Betrogen bis zum jüngsten Tag" ("Duped Till Doomsday", 1957), and in Konrad Wolf"s "Sonnensucher" ("Sun Seekers", 1958).

From 1958 on, Senftleben also appeared regularly on GDR television, for instance as major Kock in Gerhard Klingenberg"s comedy "Spuk in Villa Sonnenschein" (1959). In 1960, he took over the role of prosecutor Sieber in the successful TV crime series "Blaulicht" and played the character in numerous episodes over the years. Furthermore, he often starred in the TV crime series "Polizeiruf 110" and "Der Staatsanwalt". During the following decades, Senftleben altogether appeared in more than 200 TV productions, often in supporting roles as a police officer, physician, or neighbour.

In 1965, Senftleben returned to his hometown Berlin to perform at Potsdam"s Hans Otto Theater. He then became a cast member of Berlin"s Volksbühne where he stayed for nearly 30 years. Besides his theatre work and his film and TV appearances, Senftleben also worked for the radio and as a dubbing voice. His most important films include "Die Jagd nach dem Stiefel" (1962), directed by Konrad Petzold, and the film operetta "Orpheus in der Unterwelt" ("Orpheus in the Underworld", 1974), directed by Joachim Hess where Senftleben played Mars, the God of War. From 1983 to 1989, he also played the comedic role of Erwin Heimboldt in the TV series "Ferienheim Bergkristall".

Senftleben regularly appeared in TV productions after the German reunification took place, for instance as grandpa Schmutzler in the TV series "Feuerwache 09" (1991) or in episodes of "Der letzte Zeuge" (1998 and 2004), starring Ulrich Mühe, and "Die Motorrad-Cops" (2001).

The contents of this entry were funded with the support of the DEFA-Stiftung.