Rolf Becker – the Gentle Rebel

He has ranked as one of the best and most active German actors for decades. Be it on stage, in films or on TV. Rolf Becker’s voice, his posture and his gentleness are unique. In 2015 he will celebrate his 80th birthday – a great occasion to learn more about him. The film “Rolf Becker – The gentle Rebel” traces his footsteps.

Rolf Becker is born in Leipzig Gohlis in 1935. During World War II he is sent to his grandparents to the countryside in Schleswig-Holstein, in the north of Germany. He grows up with his grandfather, a lefty. More or less unintentionally funny, Rolf knows how to make people laugh – a clown. His father, a conservative German officer, dies when the boy is only eight years old.

After the war Rolf Becker visits the secondary school in Bremen and revolts against social paralysis. The theatre becomes his political stage. Later, he plays on almost all big German stages and becomes a prominent and formative figure of the new German film scene.

From Hamburg he goes out into the world for his project – Uruguay, the German province, and, repeatedly, Leipzig. Only his family, his grown-up children Ben and Meret Becker, his current wife and their three joint sons, hold him back. Shortly before his 80th birthday Rolf Becker tells about his life, about what moves him, what keeps him curious, and what makes him gentle.