Michael Deffert(1968-2021)

Michael Deffert was discovered for Sesame Street at age eleven while riding his bicycle in the streets of his native town Hamburg. When he noticed a film set in his neighborhood, he charmed his way into the hearts of the female make up artists and persuaded them to introduce him to the director. A Polaroid was taken and soon thereafter he was invited to a casting for Sesame Street. His perseverance paid off and he booked the part. It didn't take him long to land his first role on stage in the landmark theatre Hamburger Kammerspiele. It was in the German adaptation of " On Golden Pond ", sharing the stage with some of the most popular legends of the German theatre. He starred in numerous German TV series and his breakthrough came, when he was cast as one of the leads in the German adaptation of 21, Jump Street. ( Sk - Babies for Europe's most successful Network RTL ). In the part of hot blooded under cover cop " Hannes Lohberg ", he captivated millions of viewers every week at prime time. When he gave producing a shot ( together with long time friend Billy Zabka aka Johnny Lawrence from the Karate Kid , who he had met on a celebrity yachting regatta in Germany) his poetic tale " MOST " was rewarded in 2003 with an academy award nomination as Best Live Action Short. After premiering at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival and subsequently winning a number of other high end Festivals. Winning the Palm Springs International Short Film Festival was the qualifier for the academy awards. Michael Deffert is also a trained stage actor, performing in such classical roles as Mercutio in Shakespeares Romeo & Juliet as well as one of the countries most sought after voice over artists and dubbing directors. (Scorpion, Quantico) He has been the German voice of Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, Mark Ruffalo, Giovanni Ribisi, Walton Goggins in numerous films, as well as the German voice of the animated characters Aladdin, Skipper ( Penguins of Madagascar ) to name a few . He has also been the exclusive voice of Criminal Minds Shemar Moore in more than 250 episodes. Following his passion for wildlife conservation, he recently wrote and directed a documentary about Nick Brandt's Big Life Foundation in Kenya for the French / German cultural channel ARTE in 2015. He is also an ambassador for the German Greentec Awards, a big gala event held annually in Germany.