Josef Hader

Josef Hader (born 14 February 1962 in Waldhausen im Strudengau, Upper Austria) is an Austrian stand-up comedian, actor and filmmaker. He grew up in Nochling in Lower Austria, where he attended the Stiftsgymnasium Melk and made his first comedy attempts at school. After civilian service at the Red Cross, he began studying German and History, and as a student worked on his first comedy programme Fort Geschritten. His second programme, Der Witzableiter und das Feuer, won the prestigious Salzburger Stier comedy award.

After abandoning his studies and writing Biagn und Brechen (1988) and Bunter Abend (1990), Hader celebrated his breakthrough with the tragicomic play Indien, created together with comedian Alfred Dorfer, which was filmed by Paul Harather in 1993 with Hader in the leading role. With Indien and his following shows Im Keller (1993) and Privat (1994), he became one of the most successful and respected comedians in the German-speaking world; Privat is the most successful comedy in Austrian history. His more recent show "Hader muss weg" is more acting than comedy, with Hader playing seven different roles using no props other than a simple trenchcoat.

Hader has starred in commercially successful films such as Komm, susser Tod (2000), Silentium (2004) and The Bone Man (2009), while gaining critical acclaim for dramas such as Der Uberfall (2000) and Ein halbes Leben (2008). His awards include the Best Actor Award at the Locarno International Film Festival, the Romy Award, the Adolf Grimme Award and the German Television Award, as well as the Bavarian Stand-up Comedian Award, the Austrian Film Award and the Ernst Lubitsch award.

He is a regular guest on German comedy shows such as Neues aus der Anstalt on ZDF, Scheibenwischer on Das Erste, and the Quatsch Comedy Club on Pro Sieben. Hader is the father of two sons.