Andreas Hoppe has died. The actor passed away at the age of 66, as his management confirmed to SWR. The broadcaster did not disclose the cause or the exact time of death. Hoppe became known for playing Commissioner Mario Kopper, a role he inhabited from 1996 to 2018 in the Ludwigshafen edition of Tatort, opposite Ulrike Folkerts (65), who portrays Lena Odenthal.
Folkerts can count their history as long-standing colleagues
For Ulrike Folkerts, the story goes back far beyond their first day on set. “I am deeply shaken that my colleague and friend Andi has died,” she told SWR. The two had met sometime between 1982 and 1986 at the same acting school, where they were in the same class.
“We stood by each other through thick and thin, looked out for one another, and argued,” Folkerts continues. It was a deep friendship. She ends her statement with: “I am sad, Andi, that was far too soon; you were such a special guy!”
>SWR Director Kai Gniffke also commented on Hoppe’s passing. Hoppe shaped SWR’s Tatort for more than two decades, presenting his role in a down-to-earth and credible manner. His death leaves the broadcaster deeply saddened. “We are deeply shocked that this outstanding actor and artist has left us so early.”
From the theater to Tatort
Andreas Hoppe was born on June 1, 1960, in Berlin. From 1982 to 1986, he studied at the University of Music and Theatre Hanover and simultaneously performed on stage at the city’s State Theater. In the early 1990s, he belonged to the ensembles of several Berlin theaters.
His television career began with small roles in crime series. His debut in the Ludwigshafen Tatort was the case “Der kalte Tod,” which aired in 1996. From a supporting figure, he gradually became a regular presence in the series.
Katy Karrenbauer (63) also bid farewell to Hoppe on Instagram. “I am stunned to have just learned the news that you’re gone, and I am simply shocked and infinitely sad,” she wrote beside a black-and-white portrait of her colleague. “Far too soon, dear Andi. Far, far too soon!” The two had met at the start of their television careers. In 1994 they appeared together before the cameras for the Endemol-produced RTL series “Notaufnahme.” Karrenbauer played the ambulance driver Karo Kaiser, Hoppe the paramedic at her side. The two characters were not only a team, but also a couple, collecting the sick and injured in North Rhine-Westphalia. (spot)
