Biography

Max was born in Berne, Switzerland to parents Max Albert and Elvira Gertsch-Meschini. He is the youngest of three. After his Baccalauréat he enlisted at his hometown University to study History and German, but soon found out he'd seen enough classrooms for a while. Serving his mandatory (and unloved) six months in the Swiss armed forces gave him a first opportunity at honing his acting skills. Commended and set on a career path by his superiors, his interpretation of suicidal tendencies led to a very quick and total discharge. After two years spent aimlessly, he accompanied his then girlfriend, who had the acting bug, to her rehearsal. When quizzing the Group's director, Reto Nickler, how to become an actor, Nickler clued him in there were acting schools. And there was even one in his very hometown! Seven weeks later, after auditioning, he was accepted to Berne's "Conservatory of Music and Theatre" and in spring 1984 started his studies. Three years later, in 1987, his first acting job led him to Berlin, Germany, where he became a member of "Freie Volksbühne" in the western part of the City. (To this day he is a very happy resident.) In the years to come he saw the divided City become one again, joined the prestigious "Schaubuhne on Lehniner Platz", and in 1991 went to co-found the musical comedy troupe "Die Geschwister Pfister". The "Four singing siblings" and "Swiss Orphans from Las Vegas" Lilo, Toni, Ursli & Willi Pfister quickly became a fixture in Berlin's Cabaret and Variety shows, toured relentlessly for three years, won awards and then split up. Being unemployed after three years of being a local hero was tough. But it landed him a part in a new series that became an instant hit: "Girl Friends" (1994). Max played "Bendix Bast" in it, a part that led him to moderate TV fame in Germany. That same year, he played a recurring role in the crime series "Doppelter Einsatz" (RTL). "Flughafenklinik" the next year and "Im Namen does Gesetzes" (1998) kept him busy and added to his fast growing TV credits. During this time, an intense collaboration with Swiss director Christof Schertenleib evolved, leading to three movies, the first of which "Liebe Lügen" (1996) earned Max a Best Actor Award at the "Solothurn Film Festival" . In 2008 the German Series "Dr. Psycho" that Gertsch was a series regular in, went to garner a prestigious "Grimme Preis".

All this time, Max has been appearing on stages both nationally and internationally, in Munich, Hamburg, Cologne, Berlin, Vienna and Zurich. His singing and dancing chops have led him to appear in musicals like "Kiss me, Kate"(2014), "West Side Story" (2017), as well as Operettas ("Clivia", "Bibi Balù", "Frau Luna", "Die Fledermaus"), very often under the direction of director Stefan Huber. He played Mack the knife in "The Threepenny Opera" and Wilhelm in "The Black Rider". One of his favorite parts was Danny in Dennis Kelly's "Orphans" in 2013. One of his most notable and rather challenging appearances of late he had in the TV Mini series "Das Weiße Haus am Rhein" (2020), where he played Adolf Hitler. In 2023, he reprises the part of "Willi Pfister", presenting his first sever Solo show "Homecoming", taking to the Berlin Club and Cabaret stages once more.
- IMDb mini biography by: Max Gertsch