Markovics' mother worked as a clerk and his father was a bus driver. Markovics did not want to go into a professional career but wanted to become a stage actor, which his parents supported. However, he failed to pass the entry exam for the
Max-Reinhardt-Seminar. He did not let this deter him from his dream and began performing at the Serapions Theater in Vienna. In 1987, he started working with the Wiener Ensemble. In 1991, he got his first part in the movie, "Hund und Katz" and in 1993, he played the part of the innkeeper in
Paul Harather's tragic-comedy road movie "
Indien". Markovics became known to a wider audience when he played
Ernst Stockinger, appearing in the Austrian crime show "
Inspector Rex", and then later in the spin-off series "
Stockinger". Roles followed with parts in "
Hinterholz 8", "Late Show" and – as the main character acting alongside
Julia Stemberger - in Geboren in Absurdistan, as well as in "
Komm, süßer Tod. Markovics performed in many TV and theater productions, including those at Viennese theaters
Theater in der Josefstadt and
Wiener Volkstheater, where in 2005 he directed his first play production,
The Bald Singer, by
Eugène Ionesco. Markovics starred as Salomon Sorowitsch in
Stefan Ruzowitzky's 2007 film
The Counterfeiters, which was awarded the
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film for that year. Prior to that, his most notable appearances have been in the highly acclaimed Austrian (Viennese)
black comedy Komm, süßer Tod (2001), his role as far-right terrorist
Franz Fuchs in the 2007 TV film
Franz Fuchs - Ein Patriot, and in the police drama television series
Inspector Rex. His character from
Inspector Rex had his own spin-off series,
Stockinger. He also played the role of
Ferdinand aus der Fünten in the 2012 Dutch film
Süskind, and a small role (Wolf) in the acclaimed 2014 comedy
The Grand Budapest Hotel. He also plays a supporting role in the German television series
Babylon Berlin. Markovics remains a frequent stage actor, and in April 2010 played the non-singing role of
Samiel in
Counterfeiters-director Ruzowitzky's first opera production,
Der Freischütz at Vienna's
Theater an der Wien. He directed and wrote
Atmen in 2011. == Personal life ==