Trivia

Once he was offered the leading role in Pretty Woman (1990), but he ultimately turned it down.

Inherited the mysterious Iffland-Ring from Josef Meinrad, which is given to the most important actor of German speaking theater since over 200 years. In his testament, Ganz declared that the German actor Jens Harzer should be the next recipient.

He was in a relationship with Romy Schneider at the beginning of the 70s.

His longtime companion was the photographer Ruth Walz.

His performance as the angel Damiel in Wings of Desire (1987) became so iconic, that he could make a short and silent appearance as the same character in Children of Nature (1991) without confusing the audience. Later, he would reprise the role in the sequel Faraway, So Close! (1993).

In his almost six decades long film career he collaborated with 3 Academy Award-winning directors (Franklin J. Schaffner, Jonathan Demme and Francis Ford Coppola) and 6 directors who were nominated for 'Best Director' (Wolfgang Petersen, Stephen Daldry, Ridley Scott, Barbet Schroeder, Atom Egoyan and Terrence Malick). He also worked with 2 directors, who won the Academy Award for 'Best Foreign Language Film' (Volker Schlöndorff and Bille August) and another 5 directors who were nominated for it (Hans W. Geissendörfer, Claude Goretta, Friðrik Þór Friðriksson, Oliver Hirschbiegel and Uli Edel). Additionally, he worked with 5 directors, who were nominated in other categories (Éric Rohmer, Wim Wenders, Werner Herzog, David Hare and Lars von Trier).

His last name meant "whole" or "total" (like "total war") in German.

Lived in his hometown Zurich with homes in Venice and Berlin.

Acted in 3 features nominated for the 'Best Foreign Language Film' Academy Award (Children of Nature (1991), Downfall (2004) and The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008)) and in 1 feature nominated for 'Best Picture' (The Reader (2008)).

He was one of the most prominent actors of the 'New German Cinema' and worked together with most of its key directors: Haro Senft, Hans W. Geissendörfer, Wim Wenders, Peter Handke, Reinhard Hauff, Werner Herzog, Harun Farocki, Volker Schlöndorff, Alexander Kluge and Rudolf Thome.

Son of a Swiss worker and his Northern Italian wife.

Played the leading character in the 11-hour stage performance of "Faust I" and "Faust II" (2000) directed by Peter Stein at the 2000 Expo in Hanover, Germany. This legendary performance was also shown on TV in Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: Faust I (2001) (directed by Peter Schönhofer) and in Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: Faust II (2001) (directed by Thomas Grimm).

Chosen "Actor of the Year" in 1973 by "Theater heute" magazine for his role in "Der Ignorant und der Wahnsinnige" at the Salzburg Theater Festival.

President of the German Film Academy (alongside actress Iris Berben) from 2010 to 2013.

His son Daniel was born in 1972.

Starred in both of the 2 features that Austrian novelist, playwright and Nobel Prize winner Peter Handke directed for cinema: The Left-Handed Woman (1977) and The Absence (1992).

From 1996 until his death in 2019, Ganz held the Republic of Austria's Iffland-Ring, which passes from actor to actor-each bequeathing the ring to the next holder, judging that actor to be the "most significant and most worthy actor of the German-speaking theatre".

Had a friendly relationship with Isabelle Huppert and starred together with her in Retour à la bien-aimée (1979) and Lady of the Camelias (1981).

He starred with Jean Seberg in The Wild Duck (1976), which became her last feature film performance.