Potente made an auspicious film debut in Hans-Christian Schmid's 1996 film Nach F? Urwald, for which she won that year's Bavarian Film Prize for Young Talent; she subsequently did a good deal of television work before enjoying her international breakthrough in Run Lola Run. A huge hit in Germany and a sleeper success in the States, the film featured Potente in a state of constant locomotion, running through time and fate to save her boyfriend from the clutches of his gangster employers. Her performance, which combined urgency, unflappable verve, and surprising warmth, earned her the respect of any number of critics, and she found herself -- alongside director and boyfriend Tom Tykwer -- being hailed as one of the European cinema's most exciting new talents.
Earning a German Shooting Stars award from the European Film Promotion in 1998, Potente went on to do starring work in a number of films, including Tykwer's The Princess and the Warrior (2000), which cast her as a mental hospital nurse who has the ability to turn back time. The actress' growing international stature was also reflected in her casting as Johnny Depp's girlfriend in Blow, Ted Demme's account of the life of George Jung (Depp), a drug dealer who was instrumental in the rise of cocaine use in the 1970s. International fame continued to grow for the striking actress when, following a small role in the Todd Solandz satire Storytelling (2001) she was cast opposite Matt Damon in director Doug Liman's fast-paced thriller The Bourne Identity. Inspired by Run Lola Run (it not only utilized that film's star, but prominantly featured a track from the Lola soundtrack in its advertising campaign), Potente found her strong cult appeal morphing into full-blown commercial viability.
--Rebecca Flint, All Movie Guide
GERMANY