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Franka Potente

Franka Potente
Born in Dulmen bei Munster in Germany on 22 June 1974 Franka Potente is probably best know for Run Lola Run and The Bourne Identity. She believes her career choice was influenced by her tendency to act like a clown and arranging impromptu performances for her family. She did this for attention that she felt she was lacking as her younger brother who was sick from birth monopolised their parents time. She studied acting at the Otto-Falckenberg-Schule drama school in Munich and The Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute in New York but was discovered in a bar by a female casting agent.

Her first film was Nach Funf im Urwald (It’s a jungle out there) (1995) for which she received good reviews. She went on to star in many German films and TV programs and was named as one of European films 'Shooting Stars' by European Film Promotion before her then partner Tom Tykwer wrote Lola rennt (Run Lola Run) (1999) for her. The film gave both Potente and writer/director Tykwer to international recognition. They made another film together Der Krrieger und die Kaiserin (The Princess And the Warrior) (2000) before their separation in 2002. Around this time her other notable film was Anatomie (Anatomy) (2000) the German thriller/horror film gained a cult following on its DVD release in the UK.

Her international/Hollywood break came staring along side Johnny Depp in Blow (2001) the true story of cocaine trafficker George Jung . Since then she has work on many German and international films most famously the first two of the highly popular Bourne trilogy.

Her other talents include music, she plays the violin and the flute and sings including on the soundtrack to her hit film Run Lola Run. She has also written a book "Los Angeles - Berlin. One Year" And a script for the short film Der die Tollkirsche ausgräbt that she also directed. Fluent in French and English as well as her native German.


What members say | Filmography | Watch online (2)

Franka Potente - what members say


  • Run Lola Run
  • Run Lola Run review by DJM666 from Walsall, England
    Rated - 4 stars A short but very good movie 6 March 2006
    ...un and entertaining while it lasts. It has good acting from the main two leads (Franka Potente and Moritz Bleibtreu), good music, is a high-speed movie - the action never let...  
  • The Princess And the Warrior
  • The Princess And the Warrior review by ThomasKus from Cardiff
    Rated - 5 stars Good entertainment, interesting story and visuals 13 March 2004
    ...ways had a hard job following his ingenious debut film 'Run Lola Run' and chose Franka Potente once again to play the leading role. What we get is the story of Sissi, a young...  
  • The Bourne Identity
  • The Bourne Identity review by from Nottingham, England
    Rated - 5 stars Retro thriller 11 August 2004
    ...ies and hit men begin to pursue him across Europe. He is aided in his flight by Franka Potente, while CIA boss Chris Cooper marshals agents Clive Owen and Julia Stiles agains...  

Franka Potente - filmography


  • Che - Part 2 on DVD (2008)
    Starring: Lou Diamond Phillips,  Benicio Del Toro,  Benjamin Bratt
    Director: Steven Soderbergh
    Certificate: Certificate: 15
    Oscar-winner Steven Soderbergh delivers this ambitious and sprawling biopic of one of the 20th Century's most influential political figures. In the second 127-minute segment, GUERILLA, Ernesto 'Che' Guevara (Benicio Del Toro) has abandoned Cuba in order to start an even more daunting Latin-American ..read more »
    Rate this: 3 stars out of 5 64% from 4,259 members
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  • Eichmann on DVD (2007)
    Starring: Thomas Kretschmann,  Troy Garity,  Franka Potente
    Director: Robert Young
    Certificate: Certificate: 15
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    Based upon the final confession of Adolf Eichmann, made before his execution in Israel as he accounts to Captain Avner Less, a young Israeli Police Officer, of his past as the architect of Hitler's plan for the final solution. Captured by intelligence operatives in Argentina, 15 years after World ..read more »
    Rate this: 3 stars out of 5 60% from 377 members
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  • I Love Your Work on DVD (2005)
    Starring: Judy Greer,  Shalom Harlow,  Jared Harris
    Director: Adam Goldberg
    Certificate: Certificate: 15
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    Movie star Gray Evans (Giovanni Ribisi) is at the top of his game: a seemingly endless supply of money, celebrity friends, parties, a beautiful wife...and his name and image, known all around the world. But with fame and fortune comes sometimes unwanted attention. Convinced that the 'chance' ..read more »
    Rate this: 2.5 stars out of 5 47% from 119 members
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  • The Bourne Supremacy on DVD (2004)
    Starring: Matt Damon,  Franka Potente,  Julia Stiles
    Director: Paul Greengrass
    Certificate: Certificate: 12
    Matt Damon returns as amnesiac assassin Jason Bourne in this fast-paced follow-up to 2002's THE BOURNE IDENTITY. Forced out of hiding as the result of an attempt on his life, Bourne fulfills his earlier promise to wreak vengeance on his former CIA employers, some of whom may be in league with ..read more »
    Rate this: 3.5 stars out of 5 73% from 111,480 members
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  • All I Want on DVD (2002)
    Starring: Elijah Wood,  Franka Potente,  Chris Martin
    Director: Jeffrey Porter
    Certificate: Certificate: 15
    Seventeen year-old Jones (Elijah Wood) has decided to avoid college in favour of renting an apartment, and attempting to learn from life while trying to become a writer. As he tries to gain his mother's (Elizabeth Perkins) approval and figure out his father's whereabouts, he becomes involved with ..read more »
    Rate this: 2.5 stars out of 5 50% from 1,049 member
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  • The Bourne Identity on DVD (2002)
    Starring: Matt Damon,  Franka Potente,  Chris Cooper
    Director: Doug Liman
    Certificate: Certificate: 12
    A young man with two bullet wounds in his back is pulled from the Mediterranean Sea by a group of Italian fishermen. Barely alive, he is nursed back to health, but with no memory to help him, his only clue to his identity is a bank account number. It becomes clear that he is Jason Bourne, but what ..read more »
    Rate this: 4 stars out of 5 76% from 82,608 members
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  • Blow - BLU-RAY Version (2001)
    Starring: Johnny Depp,  Penelope Cruz,  Penelope Cruz
    Director: Ted Demme
    Certificate: Certificate: 18
    George Jung (Johnny Depp) doesn't want to live like his father (Ray Liotta)--always short of money and constantly berated by his mother (Rachel Griffiths). So he sets off for California to live on the beach, where he finds he can make a living selling drugs. Soon George's drug dealing business ..read more »
    Rate this: 3.5 stars out of 5 72% from 272 members
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  • Blow on DVD (2001)
    Starring: Johnny Depp,  Penelope Cruz,  Penelope Cruz
    Director: Ted Demme
    Certificate: Certificate: 18
    George Jung (Johnny Depp) doesn't want to live like his father (Ray Liotta)--always short of money and constantly berated by his mother (Rachel Griffiths). So he sets off for California to live on the beach, where he finds he can make a living selling drugs. Soon George's drug dealing business ..read more »
    Rate this: 3.5 stars out of 5 69% from 13,698 members
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  • Anatomy on DVD (2000)
    Starring: Franka Potente,  Benno Furmann,  Anna Loos
    Director: Stefan Ruzowitzky
    Certificate: Certificate: 18
    From Germany comes this deft mixture of European sensibilities and the modern horror film. Paula (Potente of RUN LOLA RUN) is an ambitious German medical student who has recently gained acceptance into a top anatomy class in Heidelberg taught by a prestigious professor whom she has long idolised. ..read more »
    Rate this: 2.5 stars out of 5 54% from 1,105 member
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  • Run Lola Run on DVD (1998)
    Starring: Franka Potente,  Moritz Bleibtreu,  Herbert Knaup
    Director: Tom Tykwer
    Certificate: Certificate: 15
    Presenting his third feature after last year's acclaimed Wintersleepers, Tom Tykwer cranks up the volume, stiffens the pace, and jettisons us on one of this year's most exhilarating cinematic adventures. A breathtaking race against the clock, Run Lola Run straps Tykwers' playfully hip sensibilities ..read more »
    Rate this: 3.5 stars out of 5 68% from 22,105 members
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Franka Potente - watch online


  • Eichmann to Watch Now (2007)
    Starring: Thomas Kretschmann,  Troy Garity,  Franka Potente
    Director: Robert Young
    Certificate: Certificate: 15 (TBC)
    Watch now: Subscribe and watch this as part of an unlimited package.
    Run time: 97 minutes
    Based upon the final confession of Adolf Eichmann made before he was tried and hanged in Israel in 1962, this powerful film stars Thomas Kretschmann (WANTED, KING KONG) as the SS Officer who orchestrated the mass murder and destruction of millions of innocent people. Captured by intelligence ..read more »
    Rate this: 3 stars out of 5 No ratings yet. Be the first.
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  • I Love Your Work to Watch Now (2003)
    Starring: Marisa Coughlan,  Judy Greer,  Shalom Harlow
    Director: Adam Goldberg
    Certificate: Certificate: 15 (TBC)
    Watch now: Subscribe and watch this as part of an unlimited package.
    Run time: 111 minutes
    Movie star Gray Evans (Giovanni Ribisi) is at the top of his game: a seemingly endless supply of money, celebrity friends, parties, a beautiful wife...and his name and image, known all around the world. But with fame and fortune comes sometimes unwanted attention. Convinced that the 'chance' ..read more »
    Rate this: 3 stars out of 5 55% from 4 members
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Franka Potente facts

5 most recent films

Che - Part 1 - 3.5 stars
Che - Part 2 - 3.0 stars
Romulus, My Father - 4.0 stars
Eichmann - 3.0 stars
Atomised - 3.0 stars

5 highest-rated films

Bourne Identity, The - BLU-RAY Version - 4.5 stars
Bourne Identity, The - HD DVD Version - 4.0 stars
Bourne Supremacy, The - BLU-RAY Version - 4.0 stars
Bourne Supremacy, The - HD DVD Version - 4.0 stars
The Bourne Identity - 4.0 stars

5 lowest-rated films

Romulus, My Father - 4.0 stars
I Love Your Work - 2.5 stars
All I Want - 2.5 stars
Creep - 2.5 stars
Anatomy - 2.5 stars

Most frequent co-stars

Julia Stiles - 6 times - show films
Matt Damon - 6 times - show films
Brian Cox - 4 times - show films
Clive Owen - 3 times - show films
Chris Cooper - 3 times - show films

Most frequent directors

Doug Liman - 3 times - show films
Tom Tykwer - 3 times - show films
Paul Greengrass - 3 times - show films
Ted Demme - 2 times - show films
Steven Soderbergh - 2 times - show films