Ralf Richter
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- August 17, 1957
- Died
- September 15, 2026 (aged 69)
- Birthplace
- Essen, Germany
Biography
Ralf Richter (August 17, 1957 - September 15, 2026) was a German film, television, and stage actor. Born in Essen, he grew up in a working-class neighborhood in Bochum. After completing an apprenticeship as a carpenter, he studied acting at the Westphalian Drama School in Bochum and began his career on stage. He gained widespread recognition for his portrayal of Chief Petty Officer Frenssen in Wolfgang Petersen’s acclaimed war film Das Boot (1981). The role established him as one of Germany’s most recognizable character actors, particularly known for portraying tough, outspoken, and often eccentric figures. His notable film credits include Die Katze (1988), Manta - Der Film (1991), Superstau (1991), and Fußball ist unser Leben (2000). He achieved cult status with his portrayal of the hot-tempered criminal Kalle Grabowski in Peter Thorwarth’s crime comedy Bang Boom Bang (1999). Richter continued his collaboration with Thorwarth in Was nicht passt, wird passend gemacht (2002) and Goldene Zeiten (2006). Together, these three films became known as the Unna Trilogy. His later film appearances included Vorstadtkrokodile (2009), Nicht mein Tag (2014), Radio Heimat (2016), Enfant Terrible (2020), and Bad Director (2023). In addition to his film career, he appeared in numerous German television series, including Tatort, Der Fahnder, Alarm für Cobra 11, Ein Fall für zwei, and Heldt. Richter was particularly associated with the Ruhr region and became known for his distinctive voice, direct manner, and memorable portrayals of working-class characters and small-time criminals. He died in Cologne in September 2026 at the age of 69.
Known For
Photos
Filmography
Our Darkness
Movie
Fresh
Movie
Bad Director
Movie · as Compagnon Sommerwind
Die Passion
Movie · as Barabbas
Das Boot Revisited: An Underwater Success Story
Movie · as Self - Das Boot Actor
Sky Sharks
Movie · as Joseph Langner
Enfant Terrible
Movie · as Blumenpeter
Lebendig skalpiert
Movie
auto mobil - Das VOX-Automagazin
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Breakdown Forest
Movie · as Hans Joachim (HaJo) Jendriczek
Stories of the Dead
Movie
The Last Cop
Movie · as Schore Siggi
SOKO Potsdam
TV · as Boris Strahlkowski · 1 ep
Im Winter, so schön
Movie · as Butcher
Radio Home
Movie · as Onkel Josef
1000 Mexicans
Movie
Sträters Männerhaushalt
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Half Brothers
Movie · as Barmann Zum Leuchtturm
Das fehlende Grau
Movie
Rentnercops
TV · as Ralle Pulver · 1 ep
Ponyhof
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Die Geschichte eines Abends
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Nichtlustig - die Serie!
TV · 6 eps
Not My Day
Movie · as Langer
Baggerführer Bob
Movie
Nachtwalzer
Movie · as Wirt
Ohne Gnade
Movie · as Tarzan
The Devil loves Rock N Roll
Movie · as Kalle Grabowski
Turbo & Tacho
Movie · as Charly Wischollek
Heldt
TV · as Sven Lattbeck · 3 eps
Circus Halligalli
TV · 1 ep
freitag auf d’nacht
TV · as Self · 1 ep
nate light
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Vater aus heiterem Himmel
Movie · as Jenninger
Und weg bist Du
Movie · as Receptionist
Fantalk
TV · as Self · 2 eps
Fahr zur Hölle
Movie
Zeche is nich - Sieben Blicke auf das Ruhrgebiet 2010
Movie · as Eddi
Tattoo Attack – Deutsche Promis stechen zu
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Chaostage - We Are Punks!
Movie · as Herr Krupp
Village People - Auf der Jagd nach dem Nazigold
Movie · as Hehler
Kopf oder Zahl
Movie · as Ron
The Crocodiles
Movie · as Chief Police Officer
SOKO Stuttgart
TV · as Kai Meerbusch · 1 ep
Streets of Rio
Movie · as Horst
Spiel mir das Lied und du bist tot!
Movie · as Grandpa St. John
Finnischer Tango
Movie · as Sexshop-Besitzer
Plasberg persönlich
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Lutter
TV · as Mike Pätzold · 1 ep
Inas Nacht
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Die Kocharena
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Out of Bounds
Movie · as Harald "Bullet Harry" Grabowski
Mondmann
Movie · as General
Die ProSieben Märchenstunde
TV · as Bergmann · 1 ep
Das perfekte Promi-Dinner
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Das NRW Duell
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Urmel aus dem Eis
Movie · as Dr. Zwengelmann
Pastewka
TV · as Ralf Richter · 1 ep
TV total Stock Car Crash Challenge
TV · as Rennfahrer · 11 eps
Promi ärgere Dich nicht
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Cowgirl
Movie · as Peter Blessing
Dirty Sky
Movie · as Tankwart
Mädchen Nr. 1
Movie · as Ilia
Was nicht passt, wird passend gemacht
TV · as Karl-Heinz 'Kalle' Langmann · 20 eps
Alarm für Cobra 11 - Einsatz für Team 2
TV · as Rodde Rodinsky · 1 ep
SOKO Köln
TV · as Falk Fechner, Peter Bullerjahn · 1 ep
If It Don't Fit, Use a Bigger Hammer
Movie · as Kalle
Ladies and Gentleman
Movie
Die Rosenheim-Cops
TV · as Marek · 1 ep
RTL Promi-Boxen
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Suck My Dick
Movie · as Hyde
Eine Hochzeit und (K)ein Todesfall
Movie · as Richie
Planet Alex
Movie · as Barkeeper
The Cry of the Butterfly
Movie · as Tom
Hallo Robbie!
TV · as Rainer Kanitz · 1 ep
Football Rules Ok
Movie · as Mike
Marmor, Stein & Eisen
Movie
Geisterjäger John Sinclair
TV · as Collins · 1 ep
Bang, Boom, Bang
Movie · as Karl-Heinz 'Kalle' Grabowski
Männer aus zweiter Hand
Movie · as Dario
SK Kölsch
TV · as Herbie Raiko · 1 ep
Hausmeister Krause – Ordnung muss sein
TV · as Polizist · 1 ep
Volle Kanne
TV · as Self · 4 eps
TV total
TV · as Self · 3 eps
The Polar Bear
Movie · as Zivilpolizist
Liebe mich bis in den Tod
Movie · as Krause
Ein Bär für alle Fälle
Movie · as Axel
Gomez: Heads or Tails
Movie
Die Ulla Kock am Brink Show
TV · as Self · 1 ep
If It Don't Fit, Use a Bigger Hammer
Movie · as Karl Heinz Kaminski
Mafia, Pizza, Razzia
Movie · as Bulle #1
Küstenwache
TV · 1 ep
Peanuts - Die Bank zahlt alles
Movie · as Mario
Happy Weekend
Movie · as Engel
Der Trip - Die nackte Gitarre 0,5
Movie
Die Katze von Kensington
Movie · as Reynolds
Eine fast perfekte Liebe
Movie · as Haucke
Alarm for Cobra 11: The Motorway Police
TV · as Frank, Wolf Turowski, Hannes Nowak, Raucherkalle · 1 ep
Mit einem Bein im Grab
TV · as Herr Schlömer · 1 ep
Zimmer frei!
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Der schwarze Fluch
Movie · as Gangster
Eine mörderische Liebe
Movie · as Jan Becker
Fatale Mutterliebe
Movie · as Hoffmann
Unser Charly
TV · as Kalle · 1 ep
Die Harald Schmidt Show
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Balko
TV · as Winfried Dragowski · 1 ep
Für alle Fälle Stefanie
TV · as Blacky Berg · 1 ep
Versteckte Kamera
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Fliege
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Die Wache
TV · as Brockmann, Michelle Laroche · 1 ep
Inspector Rex
TV · as Hubert Nielsen · 1 ep
Im Namen des Gesetzes
TV · as Rechtsanwalt Dr. Müller-Dohme, Eddie Steinbach · 1 ep
Lady Cop
TV · as Kai Zorski, Martin Gerlandt · 1 ep
Zwei Brüder
TV · 1 ep
Alles außer Mord
TV · as Fritz Koller · 1 ep
Bella Block
TV · as Polizist · 1 ep
Wildbach
TV · as Theo · 1 ep
Bistro, Bistro
TV · as Victor · 13 eps
Cosimas Lexikon
Movie · as Klaus Borgmann
Glückliche Reise
TV · as Eichborn · 1 ep
Freunde fürs Leben
TV · as Herr Höhnisch · 1 ep
Manta - Der Film
Movie · as Polizist Wolle
Superstau
Movie · as Hermann Pacholke
Es wäre gut, daß ein Mensch würde umbracht für das Volk
Movie · as Petrus
Novak
TV · as Schmitzchen · 18 eps
Alles im Griff
Movie · as Günter 'Bolle' Bolkowski
Café Meineid
TV · as Henning Hahn8 · 1 ep
Seven Minutes
Movie · as SA-Führer
Dobrodružství kriminalistiky
TV · as Jin McEachen · 1 ep
The Cat
Movie · as Britz
Eurocops
TV · as Harald Breitner · 1 ep
Verlierer
Movie · as Richy
The Crack Connection
Movie · as Sandrowski
Die Hausmeisterin
TV · as Isarhocker · 1 ep
Wöhlunds Rache
Movie
Rosowski
TV · 6 eps
Zielscheiben
Movie · as Strotzki
Das Boot
TV · as Frenssen · 6 eps
Out of Order
Movie · as Otto
Decoder
Movie · as Jaeger's Assistant
Der Fahnder
TV · as Rudi Sasse, Horst Peters, Schwab · 1 ep
Pogo 1104
TV · as Rick Bandora · 4 eps
Rote Erde
TV · as Otto Schablowski · 13 eps
Das Boot
Movie · as Frenssen
A Case For Two
TV · as Dirk, Dirk Teichert, Daniel Klein, Branco Bulatovic, Peter Bach, Hanno, Jochen Brenner, Rolf Greiner · 1 ep
Tour de Ruhr
TV · as Wölfchen · 6 eps
Auf Achse
TV · as Hennes · 1 ep
SOKO München
TV · as Stömmer, Sigi Talm · 1 ep
The Old Fox
TV · as Bernd · 1 ep
3 nach 9
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Polizeiruf 110
TV · 1 ep
Scene of the Crime
TV · as Wilfried Wilcke, Lemmy, Detlef, Randy, Sandrowski, Ulli Krueger, Leon Mickler, junger Mann · 1 ep