Heinrich Schafmeister

Biography

Heinrich Schafmeister is a German actor and presenter. He is the second of three children born to the former President of the State Social Court of Schleswig-Holstein. He attended primary school from 1963 to 1967, followed by the Albert-Einstein-Realschule in Essen until 1973. Subsequently, he completed his Abitur (university-entrance diploma) at the St.-Pius-Gymnasium in Coesfeld and went on to study German Studies and Music. He dropped out of his university studies in 1980 to transfer to the Folkwang University of the Arts. There, he was classmates with Armin Rohde and Hansa Czypionka. After graduating, he performed in theater productions in Aachen for six years. He made his cinematic debut in 1984 in the film Treffer, directed by Dominik Graf. Schafmeister also frequently appears in television series—for instance, as Didi Denkelmann in Die Camper, as Manfred Höch in Wilsberg, or as Karl Wolkenfuß in Wie erziehe ich meine Eltern?. Schafmeister gained wider public recognition through the film Comedian Harmonists, in which he portrayed the singer Erich A. Collin. Schafmeister serves voluntarily as the Treasurer of the Bundesverband Schauspiel (BFFS)—the professional union for actors. As a board member, he is also responsible for social and collective bargaining policy. In this capacity, he played a key role in late 2013 in concluding the first collective bargaining agreement for actors in the German film and television industry—an agreement that, among other provisions, established a minimum starting wage for newcomers to the profession. He lives in Cologne and is married to Jutta Schafmeister, an actors' agent. Together with Leonard Lansink, Schafmeister performs in theater productions. During the 2014 European elections, he publicly supported the SPD and its lead candidate, Martin Schulz. From July 23 to December 2018, he co-hosted the program Live nach Neun alongside Alina Stiegler.