Friedrich Haase was a German actor and director. He came from a court background. His father served as the first valet to King Frederick William IV of Prussia. The monarch became the future actor’s godfather, ensured that he received a solid education, and, recognizing his artistic inclinations, encouraged him to pursue a career in the theatre. Haase received his stage training under the guidance of Ludwig Tieck. He made his debut in 1846 at the Weimar Theatre in a production based on Goethe’s ballad “The Erl-King”. In the following years, he worked at several theatres. He performed in Potsdam, was transferred to Berlin by royal order, acted at the German Theatre in Prague until 1852, and later appeared in Karlsruhe, Munich, and Frankfurt am Main. In 1860, at the invitation of the Directorate of the Imperial Theatres, he moved to St. Petersburg, where for six years he was a member of the German troupe at the Mikhailovsky Theatre and enjoyed steady success with audiences. From 1866, he served as director at the court theatre of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. His production of Hamlet later became one of the models for the Meiningen Theatre. Beginning in 1869, he toured extensively throughout Europe and America. Between 1870 and 1876, he was engaged at the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Berlin, later headed the Leipzig City Theatre, and in 1883 became a member of the company of the Berlin Deutsches Theatre. He retired from the stage in 1896. He authored two volumes of memoirs: “Letters Without Embellishment” (1883) and “What I Experienced. 1846–1896” (1897). The Bakhrushin Theatre Museum collection holds photographs of the actor both in his stage roles and in everyday life.