The actor Bruno Ganz, who was most famous for playing Adolf Hitler in the Oscar-nominated film Downfall, has died aged 77.

The Swiss star had cancer and died at his home in the Swiss city of Zurich.

Ganz portrayed Hitler as a ranting and delusional madman in a bunker during the final days of his life.

But he was also shown as a fatherly figure with Parkinson's disease who was concerned about his secretaries' welfare.

One particular scene in the 2004 movie featured a furious fuhrer and spawned many parody memes online.


The memes included Hitler being told his pizza would arrive late, finding out the UK would leave the EU, and discovering there was no toilet paper.

Image: Many memes were spawned after his performance as the Nazi dictator

The actor immersed himself in the Nazi dictator role to such a degree that it affected his personality.

He said: "I tend to identify with my roles to such an extent that I appear to be totally convinced about certain statements that, in real life, I would never believe in."

For more than 50 years, Ganz worked in German language theatre, film and television.

He was described by German foreign minister Heiko Maas as "one of the most important actors of our time", whose "brilliant work remains".

Image: For more than 50 years, Ganz worked in German language theatre, film and television

He was the holder of the Iffland-Ring, the most important award for German-speaking actors.

In Hollywood, he featured alongside Liam Neeson in the 2011 movie Unknown, and also appeared in the 2004 blockbuster The Manchurian Candidate, starring Denzel Washington.

Married once, he separated from his wife with whom he had a son.