Hans-Peter Wilhelm “Hape” Kerkeling is a German comedian, author, television presenter, actor, director, singer, radio play narrator, audiobook and dubbing actor.

He became a popular television and stage comedian in the mid-1980s. In 1985, at the age of 20, he was given his first regular television show, "Känguru". This was followed by other comedy formats such as "Total Normal" and "Darüber lacht die Welt" as well as hosting major television shows such as the German preliminary decision for the Eurovision Song Contest and the Golden Camera awards.

He has written, directed and acted in several cinema and television films. His fictional characters such as Horst Schlämmer, Siegfried Schwäbli, Uschi Blum and Evje van Dampen also became known to a wide audience. As a dubbing actor, he provided the voice of Panda Po in several films in the "Kung Fu Panda" series and the snowman Olaf from the Ice Queen films, among others.

As a book author, Kerkeling published one of the best-selling German non-fiction books in 2006, "Ich bin dann mal weg".