Samuel Koch

Samuel Koch, actor, author, speaker, born in 1987, started as a gymnast at the age of 6 and competed in countless competitions for 17 years. He studied acting at the University of Music, Drama and Media in Hanover. He has been a quadriplegic since an accident in 2010, but completed his studies with a degree in July 2014. Samuel Koch had a series role in “Sturm der Liebe” and a supporting role in the feature film “Honig im Kopf”. He joined the ensemble at Staatstheater Darmstadt in September 2014 and played leading roles in “Faust” and “Prinz von Homburg”, for which he was nominated as the best young German actor by Theater heute magazine. This was followed by his first roles in feature films and television productions. Koch made his debut in a leading role in the Grimme Award-nominated film “Draussen in meinem Kopf” in 2018. Since October 2018, he has been a member of the ensemble at the Nationaltheater Mannheim as Judas and with “Wounds are forever” (Mühlheimer Dramatikpreis 2022) on stage. Since 2021 he has been working independently as a speaker, actor (“Sachertorte”, prime video, 2022) and author.

“Zwei Leben” became a Spiegel bestseller and was awarded the “Golden Compass” media prize in 2012. In fall 2015, his second book “Rolle vorwärts” was published with the subtitle “Das Leben geht weiter als man denkt”. His work “Stehaufmensch!” has been inspiring people to discover their own “Stehaufkraft” since January 2019. In the book accompanying the live show of the same name, “Schwerelos”, he describes his experiences of how to make life easier.

Among other things, he supports the German Paraplegia Foundation and “wings for live”, the international foundation for spinal cord research. He regularly gives readings and lectures for companies or church organizers as well as at symposia, congresses and for charitable institutions.

Together with friends, his association has been active since summer 2019. Samuel Koch und Freunde e.V. supports people who are helping others in need and who are going out of their way to do so. We hope that these people can regain courage, strength and hope.