Researching Peter Becker

In 2005, he received the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, which is the highest honour awarded in German research. In 2007 he became a member of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina.

He studied medicine in Marburg, Berlin, Munich, Vienna and Hamburg, graduating in 1933. Afterwards he trained in neurology and psychiatry in Hamburg and Freiburg. Between 1934 and 1936 he was attached to the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute of Anthropology, Human Heredity, and Eugenics (KWI-A), working under the guidance of Eugen Fischer. While at the KWI-A, Becker also worked with the prominent geneticist, eugenics specialist, and Nazi Party member Dr. Fritz Lenz.

Becker was a member of the SA (Sturmabteilung) since 1934, and in 1940 he joined the Nazi Party. After the war he was dismissed from the University of Freiburg because of the membership in these organisations; however, in 1947 he was formally de-Nazified and has obtained venia legendi at the University of Freiburg. In 1957 he was appointed professor of human genetics at the University of Göttingen, the post he held until his retirement in 1975.

At the same time as he was building his acting career, Becker was simultaneously involved in journalism, rising to editor of the Hersfelder Zeitung newspaper’s weekly youth page.

After completing his formal education, Becker moved to Berlin, where he became a production assistant and casting director for commercials and music videos.

In 2002 he began studying at the prestigious Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts. During this time he was recruited for his first film roles (‘The Loss Of The Pamir’), and further theatre engagements including Deutsches Theater (Berlin) and Thalia Theater (Hamburg).The short film ‘Es Geht Uns Gut’ by Thomas Stuber, on which he worked both as lead actor as well as co-author, won the Advancement Award of the Film Industry of Baden-Wuerttemberg in 2006 and received the title “valuable” by the Film Review Board Wiesbaden in 2007.In addition to working in front of the camera (including 'Unknown (2011 film)’, 'Babylon Berlin', '13 Minutes', ‘Mission To Murder Hitler’ and ‘Bad Banks’) he is regularly performing on stage.

From 2006 to 2007, Becker became part of the ensemble at Volkstheater, Vienna where he met director Nuran David Calis, with whom he collaborated again in 2008 at Schauspiel Köln in Cologne.

In 2009, he returned to Berlin where he has since been involved in numerous productions at Ballhaus Naunynstrasse, Heimathafen Neukölln, HAU, Ballhaus Ost and Maxim Gorki Theater.

In 2015 he played ‘Giselher of Burgundy’ at the Nibelung Festival, Worms and in 2017 he was cast as ‘Friedrich Müller’ in the highly acclaimed UK tour of ‘War Horse (play)’ that’s announced to be extended for a run at the Royal National Theatre to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I in November 2018.

Besides acting, Becker works as a voice-over artist for clients including major German TV and radio stations such as Deutschlandfunk Kultur, Arte, ARD (broadcaster) and ZDF. He is also known for his portrayal of 'The Joker (character)' in the German version of Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes and Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham.