Hans Peter Wilhelm "Hape" Kerkeling (German pronunciation: [ˈhaːpə ˈkɛʁkəlɪŋ]; born 9 December 1964, in Recklinghausen, Germany) is a German actor, presenter and comedian of Dutch descent. 　　At secondary school in Recklinghausen, Hape Kerkeling and some fellow students formed a band (Gesundfutter, meaning: health fodder) and published a record (Hawaii). 　　Kerkeling started his career as a comedian in radio, working for various German broadcasting companies, such as WDR and BR. 　　The real breakthrough came in 1984/85 when, still aged only 19, Kerkeling got a role in the Känguru [sic] television comedy show (the German word for kangaroo deliberately spelt without an "h" at the end although this broke the spelling rules at that time). The best-known character in this show was the little boy Hannilein, played by Kerkeling, an irritating child with red hair in a pudding-basin style, dungarees and sitting on giant-sized chairs, who commented on the world of adults.