Andreas Stenschke / Biography

Andreas Stenschke started making movies when he was 11 years old, produced some music videos and won a bunch of juvenile filmmaker prizes, including a trip to display his film short at a Festival in Atlanta during the 1996 Olympic Games.And while still a teenager, he began modeling in pictorial layouts for German newspaper articles.After doing his compulsory national service, working at an old person's home and hospital, he decided to fulfill his dream to become a film director. Then, at the age of 21, while doing an internship at the WDR TV Station in Köln (Cologne) Germany, he was literally discovered in the commissary -- Lana Turner style -- while joking with some young girls. A producer, struck by his good looks and infectious laughter, asked him if he was an actor. Not wanting to lose an opportunity, he said that he was and was given a screen test, resulting in his being cast for the new role of Ulli in the popular daily German late afternoon serial, "Verbotene Liebe" (Forbidden Love).While on that series, Andreas suddenly found himself a teen heartthrob for more than three years, in addition to breaking ground with his portrayal of a young gay teenager who "comes out" on the show. He also recorded a hit record, "Just When I needed You Most," displaying his rich and throaty tenor voice. However, he soon found that his private life had vanished and he couldn't go anywhere -- not to the movies or a disco or even sit in a café without being besieged for autographs, pictures or conversation.Plus, his desire to direct continued to pull at him and he decided to leave the series. He applied to the prestigious Baden-Württemberg Film Akademie in southwest Germany and was accepted for admission among 800 candidates. At about the same time, he was asked to become a regular playing the role of Ben on the weekly series, "Die Anrheiner." He took the offer, as it kept his hand in the acting side of the business, provided an income while attending school and, as a weekly series, it was less demanding on his time.In 2006, he finished shooting his final thesis film, "In Ewigkeit. Amen?," co-written with American TV/Film writer Michael Russnow. The project is a mystery comedy series, which opened doors for him at a lot of production companies and the leading German networks. And now free of his studies, he is actively pursuing other acting jobs in Germany, the U.S., the UK, Canada and Australia, in addition to his continuing but non-exclusive role on "Die Anrheiner." Also, in February 2007, he began directing a television series for the German company Filmpool and has recently co-developed a new German TV series for Granada.