Stephen Sikder

Stephen A. Sikder (born October 22, 1966, in Esslingen am Neckar) is a German-Indian actor, casting director, and politician for the CSU. After completing his *Abitur* (secondary school graduation), Sikder underwent acting training from 1985 to 1987 at the Zerboni Acting School in Munich. Subsequently, he studied in New York under Uta Hagen and Herbert Berghof at the HB Studio. Since the early 1990s, Sikder has worked in various areas of film and television production. In 1995, he founded the casting agency Dream Team Munich and has since served as a casting director on over 100 productions. These include international projects such as *The Trapp Family – A Life of Music*, the *Rosamunde Pilcher* series, the remake of *Der Seewolf* (The Sea-Wolf), as well as numerous television series and feature films. Sikder gained wider public recognition as an actor through his role as Rashid Daruwalla in the series *Lindenstraße*. He has held other roles in productions including *Sternenberg*, *Sturm der Liebe*, *Lotta in Love*, *Tatort*, *Pan Tau*, and *Das Internat*. Since 2019, he has also been a member of the ensemble for the BR comedy series *Fraueng’schichten*. In the theater, Sikder has collaborated with artists such as Cordula Trantow and Kurt Weinzierl. From 2008 to 2022, he served as a board member of the Federal Association of Casting Directors (BVC) and regularly moderated panel discussions at the Munich Film Festival. Additionally, he is a member of the German Academy for Television. In 2006, Sikder married the actress Kerstin Näfe, who is known professionally by the stage name Kristin Naefe. The couple has one son.