Biographie

The actor Hans Unterkircher began his career at the theater.

He was spotted by the legendary Max Reinhardt during a performance in Aussig an der Elbe and he engaged him for Berlin. Afterwards he was contracted by Rudolf Christians at the Irving Place theatre in New York. He traveled together with the actor Conrad Veidt and the director Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau to the USA. His engagement at this theatre ended with the declaration of war between the USA and Germany and theatre was closed temporarily.

During World War II he still concentrated his stage career on Austria with performances at the Viennese Volkstheater and at the Theater in der Josefstadt.

When Hans Unterkircher went back from the USA to Germany he continued his film career with support roles. He also remained true to the theatre at this time and he played for Erik Charell and from 1928 for Karl Farkas at the Kammerspielen in Vienna. These were his first appearances in his home country.

Hans Unterkircher also took part in silent movies at a young age. His first movies were shot in the USA for Carl Laemmle where he appeared among others in "The Last Man" (1916) at Corinne Griffith's side, in Tod Browning's "The Deciding Kiss" (1918) and "The Brazen Beauty" (1918) with Priscilla Dean. In the last two mentioned movies he acted under his pseudonym Thornton Church.