Actor, director and writer of film, theater and TV, Paulus Manker is one of the German-speaking world's most diverse talents.

In addition to playing the down and out poet Franz Kallmann in Michael Glawogger's SLUMMING, Manker's other film acting credits include Pepe Danquart's C(R)OOK / Basta - Rotwein oder Totsein, Joseph Vilsmaier's SCHLAFES BRUDER / BROTHER OF SLEEP and Ildiko Enyedi's 1989 Cannes Camera d'Or-winning MY 20TH CENTURY, as well as films with Alexander Kluge, Luc Bondy and Oliver Hitschbiegel.

Some of Manker's earliest roles were in TV films directed by Michael Haneke (1979's LEMMINGE, 1984's WER WAR EDGAR ALLAN? and 1986's FRAULEIN, for which he was assistant director). He later appeared in Haneke's features CODE UNCONNU / CODE UNKNOWN and DAS SCHLOSS / THE CASTLE.

Manker made his film directorial debut with 1985's SCHMUTZ / DIRT. Other directing credits include 1995's DER KOPF DES MOHREN / THE MOOR'S HEAD (written by Haneke) and 1989's WEININGERS NACHT / WEININGER'S LAST STAND, an adaptation of the Joseph Sobol play in which Manker also reprises his stage role as the Austrian philosopher Otto Weininger.

For the past 15 years, Manker has shared an important collaboration with Israeli playwright Joshua Sobol on a number of projects exploring new forms of the theatrical experience. Their internationally successful "polydrama" ALMA allows spectators to roam and choose their own theatrical journey, as scenes of the illustrious leading character's life are performed simultaneously in various rooms of a large venue. After six seasons in Vienna, ALMA moved on to Venice (2002), Lisbon (2003) and Los Angeles (2004). Beginning April 2006, ALMA will play at Berlin's Crown Prince's Palace. Manker directs and plays painter Oskar Kokoschka in the stage productions, as well as the 1999 TV miniseries based on the play.

Manker began his theater career in the early 80s at Vienna's Burgtheater, Munich's Residenztheater and Hamburg's Schauspielhaus. Among others, like Luc Bondy and Claus Peymann, Manker has worked extensively under the direction of Peter Zadek: BUILDER SOLNESS (1983), LULU (1986), THE MERCHANT OF VENICE (1992), RICHARD III (Lead, 1997), ALICE IN WONDERLAND (1997), HAMLET (2000) and THE JEW OF MALTA (2001).

Manker was born in Vienna. He is the son of director Gustav Manker and actress Hilde Sochor.