Kretschmann made his first appearance on American television in 2003 when he guest starred in 2 episodes of "24". He later also appeared in Relic Hunter. In 2004, Kretschmann played Timothy Cain, a ruthless Umbrella Major, in "". In the same year, he appeared in the French film "Immortal" with Linda Hardy. The film was notable for its use of a digital backlot and interaction between Computer-generated characters and real actors. In 2005, Kretschmann won a role in Peter Jackson's remake of "King Kong", where he worked again with Adrien Brody, with whom he had costarred in "The Pianist".