, image = Sayn Wittgenstein Wappen WWB 261.jpg , image_size =200px , caption = , spouse = , issue = , house =

Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg was one of several imperial counties and later principalities ruled by the House of Sayn-Wittgenstein. Most of the former county is located in the present district of Siegen-Wittgenstein (in the modern state of Nort ...

, father = Prince Ludwig Ferdinand of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg , mother = Countess Yvonne Wachtmeister af Johannishus , birth_date = , birth_place =

Siegen Siegen () is a city in Germany, in the south Westphalian part of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located in the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein in the Arnsberg region. The university town (nearly 20,000 students in the 2018–2019 winter semest ...

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

, religion = , occupation = Actor Prince August Fredrik zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (german: August Fredrik Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg), known professionally as August Wittgenstein, (born 22 January 1981) is a German-Swedish actor and member of the princely

House of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg was one of several imperial counties and later principalities ruled by the House of Sayn-Wittgenstein. Most of the former county is located in the present district of Siegen-Wittgenstein (in the modern state of Nort ...

. Wittgenstein has appeared in English, German, and Swedish language films, starring in the 2013 German television movie ''Desert Heart - The Trip of My Life''. He is known for his portrayals of Georg Donatus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse in ''

The Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...

'' and Count Alfred Eckbrecht von Dürckheim-Montmartin in ''

Ludwig II Ludwig II (Ludwig Otto Friedrich Wilhelm; 25 August 1845 – 13 June 1886) was King of Bavaria from 1864 until his death in 1886. He is sometimes called the Swan King or ('the Fairy Tale King'). He also held the titles of Count Palatine of the ...

'' as well as his roles as Karl Tennstedt in ''

Das Boot ''Das Boot'' (, English: "The Boat") is a 1981 West German war film written and directed by Wolfgang Petersen, produced by Günter Rohrbach, and starring Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer, and Klaus Wennemann. It has been exhibited both as ...

'' and Andreas Wolf in '' Deadwind''.

Early life and education

Wittgenstein was born on 22 January 1981 in

and is a member of the

, an old German noble family. He is the younger son of Prince Ludwig Ferdinand of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and Countess Yvonne

Wachtmeister af Johannishus The Wachtmeister family is a Swedish noble family from Livonia, who immigrated to Sweden in the 16th century. The name '' Wachtmeister'' is German for 'sergeant'. The family branched out in 1683, and was "introduced" at the Swedish House of Nobi ...

, a member of the

Swedish nobility The Swedish nobility ( sv, Adeln eller Ridderskapet och Adeln) has historically been a legally and/or socially privileged class in Sweden, and part of the so-called ''frälse'' (a derivation from Old Swedish meaning ''free neck''). The archaic term ...

. His paternal grandparents were

Prince Ludwig Ferdinand of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg Prinz Ludwig Ferdinand Paul Franz Stanislaus Ulrich Otto Ludolf zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (4 April 1910 – 22 November 1943) was a highly decorated Oberst in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's C ...

and Princess Friederike Juliane of Salm-Horstmar. He is the great-grandson of

Richard, 4th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg Richard, 4th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (german: Richard zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, 27 May 1882 – 25 April 1925) was Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg from 1904 to 1918. Life Prince Richard was born on 27 May 1882 at Berlebu ...

and Princess Madeleine of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg. Wittgenstein is the younger brother of the journalist and writer

Princess Anna of Bavaria , image = 2019-11-20-Anna von Bayern-Maischberger-7728.jpg , image_size = , caption = Pictured in 2019 , spouse = , issue = Prince LeopoldPrincess AlvaPrince Gabriel , house = Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berl ...

. He grew up speaking both German and Swedish and is a

dual citizen Dual or Duals may refer to: Paired/two things * Dual (mathematics), a notion of paired concepts that mirror one another ** Dual (category theory), a formalization of mathematical duality *** see more cases in :Duality theories * Dual (grammatical ...

. When he was fifteen, Wittgenstein attended a boarding school in Sweden. After completing school, he lived in the United Kingdom, Paris, and Australia. He later graduated from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

. From 2005 until 2007 he studied acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Career

Wittgenstein started his acting career in 2008 with some roles in short films. In 2009 he had a role as a

Swiss Guard The Pontifical Swiss Guard (also Papal Swiss Guard or simply Swiss Guard; la, Pontificia Cohors Helvetica; it, Guardia Svizzera Pontificia; german: Päpstliche Schweizergarde; french: Garde suisse pontificale; rm, Guardia svizra papala) is ...

in the film ''

Angels & Demons ''Angels & Demons'' is a 2000 bestselling mystery- thriller novel written by American author Dan Brown and published by Pocket Books and then by Corgi Books. The novel introduces the character Robert Langdon, who recurs as the protagonist of B ...

''. In 2011 he had a supporting role in the Swedish drama ''

Avalon Avalon (; la, Insula Avallonis; cy, Ynys Afallon, Ynys Afallach; kw, Enys Avalow; literally meaning "the isle of fruit r appletrees"; also written ''Avallon'' or ''Avilion'' among various other spellings) is a mythical island featured in the ...

''. He portrayed Count Alfred Eckbrecht von Dürckheim-Montmartin in the 2012 German feature film ''

''. In 2013 he played the role of Travis in the science fiction drama '' The Congress''. In 2013 Wittgenstein landed his first starring role in the German television movie ''Desert Heart - The Trip of My Life''. He played the role of Georg Donatus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse in ''

''. He has also had roles in ''

'', ''Die Schlikkerfrauen'', ''Ein starkes Team: Späte Rache'', '' In Your Dreams'', ''

Notruf Hafenkante ''Notruf Hafenkante'' is a German television series broadcast on ZDF. It is set in Hamburg and is about the members of the police department PK 21 and the doctors of the fictional hospital Elbkrankenhaus. The show's premise is modelled on th ...

'', '' Deadwind'', ''

Leipzig Homicide ''Leipzig Homicide (SOKO Leipzig)'' is a German crime drama television series first broadcast on 31 January 2001 on ZDF. More than 400 episodes have been screened since. On 12 November 2008, the first of a two-part crossover between ''SOKO Leip ...

'', ''

Cologne P.D. Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 million ...

'', ''

SOKO München ''SOKO München'' (until 2015: ''SOKO 5113'') is a German police procedural television series that first aired on 2 January 1978 on ZDF. "SOKO" is an abbreviation of the German word ''Sonderkommission'', which means "special investigative team ...

'', ''Nord bei Nordwest'', ''Ein Lächeln nachts um vier'', ''

Ku'damm 56 Ku’damm 56 is a German television trilogy about the 50s youth generation in the period between the end of World War II and the German Wirtschaftswunder. It tells the story of a conservative mother and her three daughters of marriageable age. Th ...

'', ''Jenny – echt gerecht'', and ''Josephine Klick – Allein unter Cops''.

Personal life

In 2021, Wittgenstein and Austrian psychologist and podcaster Mia Rohla became engaged. She is the daughter of the Austrian businessman and television personality Martin Rohla. They have got married on 3 September 2022 in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wittgenstein, August Living people 1981 births 21st-century German male actors 21st-century Swedish male actors American Academy of Dramatic Arts alumni Georgetown University alumni German male film actors German male television actors German princes

August August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars, and the fifth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. Its zodiac sign is Leo and was originally named ''Sextilis'' in Latin because it was the 6th month in ...

People from Siegen Swedish male film actors Swedish male television actors