In addition to film, TV and theater, he does poetry readings. His
brother, Chris Sander, is a well-known scientist using human genome
information to help solve the cancer problem, working in New York
City.
Although studying drama, germanistics, art history and philosophy, he
made his stage debut at the Düsseldorf Kammerspiele in 1965. Two years
later, he decided to abandon his studies and attended acting
lessons.