Joachim Kretzer is a German actor, voice actor, dubbing director, and dialogue writer born in 1968 in Bern, Switzerland. He holds German, British, and American nationalities. Kretzer was born into a family of theater artists; his parents were both engaged at the Stadttheater Bern. When he was three years old, his family moved to the vicinity of Bonn, Germany. After completing his Abitur in 1987, he moved with his family to Munich and later completed his military service in Schwabing. From 1989 to 1992, he attended the Zinner-Studio acting school in Munich, earning his diploma.

Kretzer began his performing career on stage, with his first engagement at the Freilichtspiele Schwäbisch Hall in 1992. In late 1993, he became a permanent ensemble member at the Ernst-Deutsch-Theater in Hamburg, performing in productions such as Nathan der Weise, Medea, and Mutter Courage und ihre Kinder. He has also performed in open-air productions, playing Old Shatterhand at the Karl-May-Spiele in Bad Segeberg in 2005 and 2006, and the villain Guy de Rigault at the Störtebeker-Festspiele on the island of Rügen in 2009 and 2010.

On screen, Kretzer is recognized for his long-running role as lawyer Torben Lichtenhagen on the ARD daily soap opera Rote Rosen, a character he portrayed from December 2010 to August 2020, occasionally playing a double role as Torben's half-brother Toni. He gained earlier fame for his role as Dr. Achim Kreutzer on the series In aller Freundschaft from 1998 to 1999, and as helicopter pilot Robert Becker on HeliCops – Einsatz über Berlin in 2000. His other television credits include appearances on Die Rosenheim-Cops, Alarm für Cobra 11, Küstenwache, and multiple Rosamunde Pilcher film adaptations. In cinema, he has appeared in films such as Elementarteilchen (2006) and the Italian production Una Vita Tranquilla (2010).

As a voice actor, Joachim Kretzer has an extensive career providing German dubbing voices for numerous characters in film and television series. His voice work spans a wide range of genres, but he is particularly notable for his contributions to anime. One of his anime roles is Hanabusa in the series Beautiful Bones: Sakurako’s Investigation, where he voiced the character in the German dub for episodes ten through twelve. His other significant anime voice roles include Hiruko in Naruto Shippuden the Movie: The Will of Fire, Buzz in D.Gray-man, and Tenji and Kyuusuke in the Naruto Shippuden television series. He also voiced Spriggan in The Ancient Magus' Bride, Tsuzumi in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Karsee in One Piece, a character in Gintama, and Peppino in The Count of Monte Cristo: Gankutsuou. Beyond anime, his dubbing work includes providing voices for characters in international live-action series such as CSI: Vegas, where he voices Gil Grissom, Special Ops: Lioness, Yellowstone, and Stargate Atlantis. He has also voiced characters in the German dubs of children's series like Thomas & Friends, taking on roles such as Carlos, Raul, and Jack.

In addition to performing voice roles, Kretzer works as a dubbing director and dialogue writer, and has recorded numerous audiobooks and radio plays. He resides near Hamburg.