The Lives of Others/Trivia

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• Hey, It's That Guy!:
  • Volker "Zack" Michalowski cameos as typewriter expert. This unfortunately caused unintended laughter among the (German) audience, because he is mainly known for his Sketch Comedy show. The fact that he used his trademark Saxon accent also didn't help. (Or was casting him even intentional?)
  • Martin Bormann also seems to be doing pretty well for himself in East Germany.
• Reality Subtext: Many people involved in the film-making had a history with East Germany, having lived there, having had relatives living there and having been, naturally, spied on by Stasi agents. Notably the film's star, Ulrich Mühe, was under surveillance and later found out that his (then) wife was a registered informant on him.
  • Von Donnersmarck wrote the role specifically for Mühe - it ended up being his command performance as he died not long after the film was released.