Matthias Schweighöfer
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Matthias Schweighöfer (; born 11 March 1981) is a German actor and filmmaker known for his work in several German and American film productions. He is best known for his role as Lieutenant Franz Herber in the 2008 film ''
Valkyrie In Norse mythology, a valkyrie ( or ; from ) is one of a host of female figures who guide souls of the dead to the god Odin's hall Valhalla. There, the deceased warriors become ('single fighters' or 'once fighters').Orchard (1997:36) and Li ...
''. In 2021, Schweighöfer appeared in the
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
film '' Army of the Dead'', directed by
Zack Snyder Zachary Edward Snyder (born March 1, 1966) is an American filmmaker. He made his feature film debut in 2004 with ''Dawn of the Dead (2004 film), Dawn of the Dead'', a remake of the 1978 horror film Dawn of the Dead (1978 film), of the same name ...
, as Ludwig Dieter. He reprised his role in the prequel film, '' Army of Thieves'', which he also directed. In 2023, he appeared in the role of German theoretical physicist Werner Heisenberg in Christopher Nolan's biographical thriller, '' Oppenheimer'', about J. Robert Oppenheimer and the development of the atomic bomb during World War II.


Early life

Born in Anklam,
Western Pomerania Historical Western Pomerania, also called Cispomerania, Fore Pomerania, Front Pomerania or Hither Pomerania (; ), is the western extremity of the historic region of Pomerania, located mostly in north-eastern Germany, with a small portion in no ...
, at the time part of the communist
East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...
, Schweighöfer attended Berlin's renowned acting school Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts, but dropped out after one year. Nevertheless, the son of actors had already worked with established directors such as
Peter Greenaway Peter Greenaway, (born 5 April 1942) is a British film director, screenwriter and artist. His films are noted for the distinct influence of Renaissance and Baroque painting, and Mannerist painting in particular. Common traits in his films a ...
.


Career

His first role in a feature film was ' (1997), directed by Andreas Dresen. In the following years, he appeared in projects such as '' Soloalbum'' (2003), '' Off Beat'' (2004), ''
Eight Miles High "Eight Miles High" is a song by the American rock band the Byrds, written by Gene Clark, Jim McGuinn (later known as Roger McGuinn), and David Crosby. It was first released as a single on March 14, 1966. Musically influenced by sitar playe ...
'' (2007) and '' Rabbit Without Ears''. Schweighöfer portrayed Lieutenant Franz Herber in ''
Valkyrie In Norse mythology, a valkyrie ( or ; from ) is one of a host of female figures who guide souls of the dead to the god Odin's hall Valhalla. There, the deceased warriors become ('single fighters' or 'once fighters').Orchard (1997:36) and Li ...
'', a 2008 film dramatizing the failed 20 July assassination and political coup plot to kill Adolf Hitler. The international release of ''Valkyrie'' and the all-star cast (including
Tom Cruise Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962) is an American actor and film producer. Regarded as a Cinema of the United States, Hollywood icon, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Tom Cruise, various accolades, includ ...
,
Kenneth Branagh Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh ( ; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Born in Belfast and raised primarily in Reading, Berkshire, Branagh trained at RADA in London and served as its president from 2015 to 2024. List of award ...
,
Terence Stamp Terence Henry Stamp (born 22 July 1938) is an English actor. Known for his sophisticated villain roles, he was named by ''Empire (magazine), Empire'' as one of the 100 Sexiest Film Stars of All Time in 1995. He has received various accolades in ...
and Bill Nighy) not only allowed Schweighöfer to be recognized abroad, it provided an opportunity for him to be cast in other English speaking roles. In 2009, Schweighöfer founded the fashion label ''German Garment'' with TV presenter Joko Winterscheidt. In 2010, he made his debut as film director with the romantic comedy '' What a Man'', followed in 2013 by his second movie '. In 2017, he directed, produced and played the lead role in ''
You Are Wanted You Are Wanted is a German drama series directed and produced by and starring Matthias Schweighöfer, first released on 17 March 2017 by Amazon Video, the first foreign-language Amazon Original Series to be released globally. The series was wr ...
'', Amazon Studios' first non-English-language TV series. In 2021, Schweighöfer appeared in the
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
film '' Army of the Dead'', directed by
Zack Snyder Zachary Edward Snyder (born March 1, 1966) is an American filmmaker. He made his feature film debut in 2004 with ''Dawn of the Dead (2004 film), Dawn of the Dead'', a remake of the 1978 horror film Dawn of the Dead (1978 film), of the same name ...
, as Ludwig Dieter. He reprised his role in the prequel film, '' Army of Thieves'', which he also directed. In 2021/2022, he took on the role of real-life
music producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...
Frank Farian in the biopic ''Girl You Know It's True'' about the scandalous pop duo Milli Vanilli, written and directed by Simon Verhoeven, produced by Wiedemann & Berg Film. The film was released theatrically by Leonine in December 2023. In 2023, he portrayed physicist
Werner Heisenberg Werner Karl Heisenberg (; ; 5 December 1901 – 1 February 1976) was a German theoretical physicist, one of the main pioneers of the theory of quantum mechanics and a principal scientist in the German nuclear program during World War II. He pub ...
in the Christopher Nolan biopic '' Oppenheimer''.


Personal life

Between 2004 and 2012, Schweighöfer dated Ani Schromm, and they got together again in the summer of 2013. They have a daughter born in 2009 and a son born in 2014. Schweighöfer and Schromm later separated, and as of 2019 Schweighöfer has been in a relationship with his ''Army of Thieves'' co-star Ruby O. Fee. Schweighöfer lives in Berlin.


Awards

* 2000: German Television Prize – Promotional Award for the performance in ' * 2002: Günter Strack TV Award – Best Young Actor for the performance in ' * 2003: Golden Camera – "Curt Jürgens Memorial Camera" for best newcomer and performances in ''Friends of Friends'' & ' * 2003: – For the performance in ''Friends of Friends'' * 2003: New Faces Award – ''Best Actor'' * 2004: Bavarian Film Award – Best Young Actor * 2004: Baden-Baden TV and Film Festival – Special award for the outstanding performances in ' and ''Cold Spring'' * 2005: Undine Award – Best Young Actor (TV) for the performance in ''The Young Schiller'' * 2006: DIVA-Award – Best Actor for the performances in ', ''The Young Schiller'' and ''Polly Blue Eyes'' * 2007: Undine Award – Best Young Actor (feature film) for the performance in ''Eight Miles High'' * 2007: Bambi Award – Film – National – Male * 2009: Golden Camera – Best German Actor for the performance in ''The Author of Himself: The Life of Marcel Reich-Ranicki'' * 2010: Jupiter Award – Best Male Actor (TV) for his performance in ''The Author of Himself: The Life of Marcel Reich-Ranicki'' * 2011: GQ Man of the Year – Film National


Selected filmography

Director Actor * 1999: '' Dr. Stefan Frank'', season 4, episode 10, als Ingo * 2000: ' ('), as Ben Simon * 2000: ''Trust Me'' ('), as Speedy * 2001: ''Babykram ist Männersache'', as Malte * 2001: ' (''Herz im Kopf''), as Dirk * 2002: ' (''Nachts im Park''), as Hansen * 2002: ' (TV film), as Gregor * 2002: '' FeardotCom'', as Dieter Schrader * 2003: '' Soloalbum'' ('), as Ben * 2003: ', as Felix * 2004: ''Baal'' (TV film), as
Baal Baal (), or Baʻal, was a title and honorific meaning 'owner' or 'lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The ...
* 2004: ' (', TV film), as Ben * 2004: '' Off Beat'' ('), as Crash * 2004: '' Gold – The Tulse Luper Suitcases'' * 2005: ' (TV film), as * 2005: ', as Ronny Helske * 2006: ''Lulu'' (TV film), as Jack the Ripper * 2007: ''
Eight Miles High "Eight Miles High" is a song by the American rock band the Byrds, written by Gene Clark, Jim McGuinn (later known as Roger McGuinn), and David Crosby. It was first released as a single on March 14, 1966. Musically influenced by sitar playe ...
'' ('), as Rainer Langhans * 2007: ' (TV film), as Felix * 2007: '' Fata Morgana'', as Daniel * 2007: '' Rabbit Without Ears'', as Moritz * 2008: '' The Red Baron'' ('), as Manfred von Richthofen * 2008: ', as Jan Winter * 2008: ''
Valkyrie In Norse mythology, a valkyrie ( or ; from ) is one of a host of female figures who guide souls of the dead to the god Odin's hall Valhalla. There, the deceased warriors become ('single fighters' or 'once fighters').Orchard (1997:36) and Li ...
'', as Lieutenant Herber * 2009: ' (TV film), as Marcel Reich-Ranicki * 2009: '' Night Train'', as Frankie * 2009: '' 12 Paces Without a Head'', as Gottfried Michaelsen * 2009: '' Rabbit Without Ears 2'', as Moritz * 2010: '' Friendship!'', as Tom * 2011: '' What a Man'', as Alex Nowak * 2011: ', as Alexander Honk * 2012: '' Russian Disco'', as Wladimir * 2013: ', as Paul Voigt * 2013: '' Frau Ella'', as Sascha * 2013: '' Kokowääh 2'', as himself * 2014: '' Joy of Fatherhood'', as Felix * 2015: '' The Little Prince'', as the Fox (German version) * 2015: '' The Manny'', as Clemens * 2016: '' The Most Beautiful Day'', as Andi * 2016: '' Vier gegen die Bank'', as Max * 2017: '' The Price'', as Jonas * 2017: ''
You Are Wanted You Are Wanted is a German drama series directed and produced by and starring Matthias Schweighöfer, first released on 17 March 2017 by Amazon Video, the first foreign-language Amazon Original Series to be released globally. The series was wr ...
'' (TV series), as Lukas Franke * 2018: ''
Hot Dog A hot dog is a grilled, steamed, or boiled sausage served in the slit of a partially sliced bun. The term ''hot dog'' can also refer to the sausage itself. The sausage used is a wiener ( Vienna sausage) or a frankfurter ( Frankfurter Würs ...
'', as Theo * 2018: '' A Jar Full of Life'', as Erik Ruge * 2018: '' 100 Things'', as Toni Katz * 2018: ''
Kursk Kursk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur (Kursk Oblast), Kur, Tuskar, and Seym (river), Seym rivers. It has a population of Kursk ...
'', as Pavel * 2019: '' Playmobil: The Movie'', as Rex Dasher (German version) * 2020: '' Resistance'', as
Klaus Barbie Nikolaus Barbie (25 October 1913 – 25 September 1991) was a German officer of the ''Schutzstaffel'' and ''Sicherheitsdienst'' who worked in Vichy France during World War II. He became known as the "Butcher of Lyon" for having personally tortu ...
* 2021: '' Army of the Dead'', as Ludwig Dieter * 2021: '' Army of Thieves'', as Ludwig Dieter/Sebastian Schlencht-Wöhnert * 2022: '' The Swimmers'' as Sven * 2022: ''
Hinterland Hinterland is a German word meaning the 'land behind' a city, a port, or similar. Its use in English was first documented by the geographer George Chisholm in his ''Handbook of Commercial Geography'' (1888). Originally the term was associated wi ...
'' as Josef Severin * 2023: '' Oppenheimer'' as
Werner Heisenberg Werner Karl Heisenberg (; ; 5 December 1901 – 1 February 1976) was a German theoretical physicist, one of the main pioneers of the theory of quantum mechanics and a principal scientist in the German nuclear program during World War II. He pub ...
* 2023: '' Heart of Stone'' * 2023: '' Family Switch'' as Rolf * 2023: '' Girl You Know It's True'' as Frank Farian * 2025: '' Elio'' as Ambassador Tegmen (English and German versions) * 2025: ''
Amrum Amrum (; Öömrang, ''Öömrang'' North Frisian: ''Oomram'') is one of the North Frisian Islands on the Germany, German North Sea coast, south of Sylt and west of Föhr. It is part of the Nordfriesland district in the federal state of Schleswig-H ...
''


Theatre

* 2004: '' One, Two, Three'' – Otto Ludwig Pfiffl, Hebbel Theatre, Berlin * 2007: ''North'', directed by Frank Castorf, , Berlin


Audiobooks

* 2008: ''Slam'' by Nick Hornby, * 2008: ''Die Traumnovelle'' by Arthur Schnitzler,


References


External links

*
Matthias Schweighöfer
at the German Dubbing Card Index
Matthias Schweighöfer at Players Agency

Schweighöfer at german-films.de

Rubbeldiekatz Videointerview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schweighofer, Matthias 1981 births Living people German film directors German male film actors German male television actors German male voice actors People from Anklam 21st-century German male actors Male actors from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania