Career
Born in Hamburg, Griem was primarily a German-speaking stage actor, appearing at the Thalia Theater in Hamburg, the Deutsches Schauspielhaus in Hamburg, the Burgtheater in Vienna, the Munich Kammerspiele, and finally in the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz, also in Munich. Other performances include his work in The Damned, The McKenzie Break, and Ludwig. He starred in the television mini-series The Devil"s Lieutenant directed by John Goldschmidt, adapted by Jack Rosenthal and based on the novel by Maria Fagyas, for Channel 4 and ZDF. Despite his success in film, the theatre remained at the heart of Griem"s work, and he performed in many classic roles from both the German and English-language repertoire.
Later in his career Griem turned to theatre direction, including Long Day"s Journey Into Night by Eugene O"Neill.
Before his death, he had planned to direct the Botho Strauss play, Die eine und die andere (This One and The Other). He died at Munich in 2004.