Helena Zengel (; born June 10, 2008) is a German actress. She is best known for her roles in the films ''

System Crasher ''System Crasher'' (german: Systemsprenger) is a 2019 German drama film directed by Nora Fingscheidt. Plot The nine-year-old Bernadette, known as “Benni”, is considered aggressive and wayward. If anyone but her mother touches her face, she l ...

'' (2019) and ''

News of the World The ''News of the World'' was a weekly national Tabloid journalism#Red tops, red top Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published every Sunday in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the world's highest-selling En ...

'' (2020).

Early life

Zengel was born and raised in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, and began her acting career at the age of five in a

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for the Berlin

Alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band ''Abby''.

Career

Her first main role in a film, at the age of eight, was in a

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

, ''Die Tochter'' (''The Daughte''r), which was shown at the

Berlinale The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...

2017. She also had small parts in two episodes of a German

TV series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed betw ...

, ''Die Spezialisten – Im Namen der Opfer''. In the drama film ''

'', written and directed by

Nora Fingscheidt Nora Fingscheidt ( ) is a German director and screenwriter. She has been a participant of the film festival since 2011 for her short films, winning the prize in 2017 for ''Without This World'' (''Ohne diese Welt''). She became widely known for ...

, which premiered in February 2019 at the Berlinale, Zengel plays the leading role of "Benni", an aggressive and traumatised nine-year old. In April 2020 she won the German Film Prize for Best Actress. After ''System Crasher'' won a number of international awards, Zengel was cast by

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

to play a leading role in the American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film ''

'', directed by the British

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

Paul Greengrass Paul Greengrass (born 13 August 1955) is a British film director, film producer, screenwriter and former journalist. He specialises in dramatisations of historic events and is known for his signature use of hand-held cameras. His early film ' ...

. In this adaptation of the 2016 novel of the same name by Canadian-American writer

Paulette Jiles Paulette Jiles (aka Paulette K. Jiles, Paulette Jiles-Johnson) (born 4 April 1943) is an American poet, memoirist, and novelist. Personal life Paulette Kay Jiles was born in 1943 in Salem, Missouri. She attended college at the University of ...

, Zengel stars as a 10-year-old German orphan named Johanna Leonberger, alongside

Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...

as Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd; most of her performance is in the

Kiowa language Kiowa or Cáuijògà/Cáuijò:gyà ("language of the Cáuigù (Kiowa)") is a Tanoan language spoken by the Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma in primarily Caddo, Kiowa, and Comanche counties. The Kiowa tribal center is located in Carnegie. Like most Nor ...

For her performance, Zengel received nominations for a

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

and

Screen Actors Guild Award Screen Actors Guild Awards (also known as SAG Awards) are accolades given by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). The award was founded in 1952 to recognize outstanding performances in movie an ...

for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Zengel also dubbed herself in the Italian, German, French and Spanish versions; the dubbing is limited to the lines she spoke in English. In 2021, Zengel appeared as Nina in "A Christmas Number One" alongside

Freida Pinto Freida Selena Pinto (born 18 October 1984) is an Indian actress who has appeared mainly in American and British films. Born and raised in Mumbai, Maharashtra, she resolved at a young age to become an actress. As a student at St. Xavier's Colle ...

and

Iwan Rheon Iwan Rheon (, ; born 13 May 1985) is a Welsh actor, singer, and musician. He is best known for his roles as Simon Bellamy in the E4 series ''Misfits'', Ramsay Bolton in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'', and Mötley Crüe guitarist Mick Mars ...

, a heartfelt romantic comedy about a young woman trying to save her uncle from himself before she succumbs to a terminal illness. The film was directed by Chris Cottam and written by Robert Chandler, Keiron Self and Giles New, and features performances by the fictitious artists, 5 Together, Scurve and Ranelle Spear. In 2023 Zengel starred in the

A24 A24 is an American independent entertainment company that specializes in film and television production, as well as film distribution. It is based in New York City. A24 was founded in 2012 by Daniel Katz, David Fenkel and John Hodges. Pr ...

fantasy adventure film ''

The Legend of Ochi ''The Legend Of Ochi'' is an upcoming American fantasy adventure film written and directed by Isaiah Saxon in his feature film debut. The film stars Willem Dafoe, Emily Watson, Finn Wolfhard and Helena Zengel. Cast * Willem Dafoe * Emily Watso ...

'' acting opposite

Willem Dafoe Willem James Dafoe (; born July 22, 1955) is an American actor. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Willem Dafoe, various accolades, including the Volpi Cup for Best Actor, in addition to receiving nominations for ...

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
Helena Zengel
German film database with photos
Helena.Zengel.Official
Instagram account
Youtube Interview
2020 Q&A in English {{DEFAULTSORT:Zengel, Helena 2008 births Living people German child actresses 21st-century German actresses German film actresses German television actresses Actresses from Berlin Best Actress German Film Award winners