German actor Ken Duken received his acting start in theater productions before making his television debut in the German crime movie "Blutiger Ernst." Soon after, he was cast in Friedemann Fromm's 1999 film "Schlaraffenland," which featured Franka Potente. Duken then had a starring role in Miguel Alexandre's dramatic snow adventure "Gran Paradiso." In the movie, he played Mark, a paraplegic who fights depression as he dreams of climbing an enormous mountain called Gran Paradiso. Duken's character was limited to a wheelchair, and Duken received accolades and wider notice from his performance. In 2000, he married German actress Marisa Leonie Bach. The two wrote and acted together in 2003's short-film suspense drama "From Another Point of View," which was also co-directed by Duken. The actor made frequent appearances on German television programs, include a recurring role on the crime drama "Nachtschicht." In 2008, Duken appeared in the highly-regarded biographical film "Max Manus," which explored the life of the World War II-era Norwegian resistance fighter. Slowly, Duken made inroads in American and British film. He had a small part in Quentin Tarantino's 2009 war adventure "Inglourious Basterds" and a role in the 2011 British teen romance "Chalet Girl." He also starred as the lead in the American indie romance "My Last Day Without You" as a German businessman who falls in love with a New Yorker while in the city for work.