His notable roles include Lieutenant Hans von Witzland in Stalingrad (1993), Hauptmann Wilm Hosenfeld in The Pianist (2002), Hermann Fegelein in Downfall (2004), Captain Englehorn in King Kong (2005), Major Otto Remer in Valkyrie (2008), the voice of Professor Z in Cars 2 (2011), and as the journalist Jürgen Hinzpeter in A Taxi Driver (2017).

He also portrayed Baron Wolfgang von Strucker in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) and Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015).

[citation needed] Although popular in his homeland, Kretschmann did not achieve notice in Hollywood until his role as Hauptmann Wilm Hosenfeld in Roman Polanski's 2002 film The Pianist.

[citation needed] That same year, he starred in the thriller Valkyrie, playing Major Otto Ernst Remer, a Wehrmacht officer who had a key role in stopping the 20 July Plot.

[citation needed] 2009 saw Kretschmann guest star in the American science-fiction TV drama series FlashForward, as well as a major secondary part in the British biopic The Young Victoria as King Leopold I of Belgium.

Kretschmann then moved to Malaysia in the summer to shoot his scenes for the German biopic Jungle Child based on the eponymous bestseller by Sabine Kuegler.

[2][3][4] Kretschmann starred as Captain Kurt Brynildson in the 2011–2012 ABC original paranormal/adventure/horror television series The River about a group of people on a mission to find a missing TV explorer in the Amazon.

[citation needed] Kretschmann signed a multi-film contract with Marvel Studios to play Baron Wolfgang von Strucker,[5] and first appeared as the character in a post-credits scene of the 2014 film Captain America: The Winter Soldier.