Samuel Finzi


Samuel Finzi is a Bulgarian actor, of Bulgarian-Jewish descent. Since his start in the late 1980s, he has hundreds of film, television, and theatrical credits. Between 1993 and 2011, he received ten acting awards.
Born in Bulgaria's second-largest city, Plovdiv, he is the son of actor Itzhak Fintzi and performed in his first theater and film roles while still a student. Very early on, he came into contact with directors who have had a major influence on European theater and film. He has worked in the theater with directors such as Benno Besson, Dimiter Gotscheff, Frank Castorf, Jürgen Gosch, and Robert Wilson. In film, his collaborations with Michael Glawogger, Oliver Hirschbiegel, Peter Popzlatev, Sönke Wortmann, and Til Schweiger have extended his popularity to a wider audience. He also played the title role in the crime series Flemming. Besides his theater engagements at all of the important German language theaters, Samuel Finzi has performed in many film and television productions. He has captivated audiences in popular successes such as Kokowääh, as well as in independent films such as Die Besucherin, Même Dieu est venu nous voir, and Vaterspiele.
Finz shapes his figures as smart, associative character studies, which bear witness to a detailed and intelligent acting strategy. Audiences and the press celebrate his intensive images of human motivation that are almost craving for transformation and his effortless precision when performing. In 2014, he played six leading roles at the Deutsches Theater, the Maxim Gorki Theater, and the Volksbühne, in Berlin, and at the Schauspielhaus in Leipzig.

Selected filmography