Simon Verhoeven (born in Munich on 20 June 1972) is a German-Austrian

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

, film producer, former

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

, and occasional film music composer.

Life and family

Verhoeven is the son of international screen actress

Senta Berger Senta Verhoeven (née Berger; ''Austrian German:'' , ; born 13 May 1941) is an Austrian-German actress. She received many award nominations for her acting in theatre, film, and television; her awards include three Bambi (prize), Bambi Awards, t ...

and

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

-winning,

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

-nominated film director Michael Verhoeven. The Verhoevens have been working in acting and directing for generations: Simon Verhoeven's grandfather

Paul Verhoeven Paul Verhoeven (; born 18 July 1938) is a Dutch filmmaker, who has worked variously in the Netherlands, the United States, and in France. He is known for directing genre films with strong satirical elements, often featuring graphic violence and ...

(not the Dutch filmmaker of the same name) ran the renowned Deutsches Theater in Berlin as well as the

Munich Kammerspiele The Munich Kammerspiele (German: Münchner Kammerspiele) is a state-funded German-language theater company based at the ''Schauspielhaus'' on Maximilianstraße (Munich), Maximilianstrasse in the Bavarian capital. The company currently has three ...

. Michael Verhoeven's sister Lis Verhoeven was a stage actress and director who was briefly married to international screen actor Mario Adorf. Simon Verhoeven's brother Luca is also an actor who debuted in Simon's first cinematic directorial effort '' 100 Pro'' (2001). The family legacy on stage and screen was captured in the documentary film ''The Verhoevens'' (2003). Verhoeven and his father run their own production company, Sentana Filmproduktion, which Michael Verhoeven and Senta Berger founded already in 1965.

Education

After finishing high school in Munich in 1991, Verhoeven moved to New York to study acting at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. In his New York years he also studied jazz composition under Don Friedman, and later took classes in film music scoring at the

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...

in Boston. In 1995, Verhoeven got accepted at the

New York University Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic, and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, as the School of the Arts at New York University, Tisch ...

to study screenwriting and film directing; he graduated as a

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students pursuing a professional education in the visual arts, Fine art, or performing arts. In some instances, it is also called a Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA). Background ...

in 1999.

Directing and screenwriting career

Verhoeven belongs to the most bankable German film directors and screenwriters of the 2010s until today. His most successful film so far has been '' Welcome to Germany (Willkommen bei den Hartmanns)'', which became 2016's biggest domestic theatrical release in Germany with over 4 million tickets sold and a global box office of almost $50m. This

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

about the 2015 refugee crisis was screened at many international film festivals, and it won many German as well as international awards and nominations. After making a few short films and music videos in the late 1990s, Verhoeven's screenwriting and directing career started in 2001 with the buddy comedy ''100 Pro''. He followed up with his 2009 ensemble comedy '' Men in the City'' (''Männerherzen''), which sold over 2 million tickets at the domestic box office. This success sparked the equally successful sequel ''Men in the City 2'' in 2011 (also written and directed by Verhoeven), as well as a number of international remakes in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, and other countries. With his first English-language feature film '' Friend Request'' (2014) starring Alycia Debnam Carrey, Verhoeven tried his hand in the horror genre. The film made a respectable $2m opening weekend gross at the US box office. Additionally the German production sold well at the international film markets and was screened in theaters worldwide. Returning to his homeland, Verhoeven landed a huge hit with his aforementioned political comedy ''Welcome to Germany'' (2016) that convinced audiences as well as critics world-wide. The film marks also a special collaboration, since Verhoeven directed his mother for the first time, the international screen and TV actress

. His film got adapted for the stage, premiering at the Akademietheater of the world-famous Viennese Burgtheater. Many travelling productions followed that tour the German-language stages until today. In February 2020,

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

released his sixth theatrical feature ''

Nightlife Nightlife is a collective term for entertainment that is available and generally more popular from the late evening into the early hours of the morning. It includes pubs, bars, nightclubs, parties, live music, concerts, cabarets, theatre, ...

'' starring Elias M'Barek and Frederik Lau, which started as number 1 of the German box office. The comedy had sold over 1 million tickets within 10 days of release, when the COVID-19 crisis forced all cinemas to close down, stopping its success in the tracks. It then topped the

drive-in A drive-in is a facility (such as a restaurant or Drive-in theater, movie theater) where one can driving, drive in with an automobile for service. At a drive-in restaurant, for example, customers park their vehicles and are usually served by ...

charts when regular cinematic screenings weren't possible. Still, the comedy remained the most successful domestic film at the German box office 2020. On May 23, 2020 the comedy received the Austrian

Romy Award The Romy television award in honor of the German-born and naturalized French actress Romy Schneider, born in Vienna, was created in 1990 by the Austrian newspaper ''Kurier'' – or rather their movie reviewer Rudolf John, who also designed t ...

for the Best Screenplay. At th
Monte-Carlo Comedy Film Festival
''Nightlife'' received numerous accolades: The prizes for Best Film, Best Director, the Audience Award as well as a Special Mention for the cast. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 travel situation, Verhoeven didn't attend the ceremony on 10 October 2020. The renowned Berlin film critic society awarded ''Nightlife'' with the Ernst-Lubitsch-Preis for the best comedy 2020. Mario Adorf presented him the award in person 8 months later on 28 September 2021. Three days later, he also received another Lola German Film Award for the most successful theatrically released film in 2020 for ''Nightlife''. The same night, the

Deutsche Filmakademie The Deutsche Filmakademie is a German independently run organization with a focus on filmmaking. History The academy was founded in 2003 in Berlin, on the initiative of Helmut Dietl, Bernd Eichinger, and Ulrich Felsberg. It initially compris ...

also honoured his mother Senta Berger with a Lifetime Achievement Award for her works in German cinema. On all his directorial works, Verhoeven collaborated with the

director of photography The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...

Jo Heim. Next to his feature works, Verhoeven also directs commercials, among them advertisements for

Apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

Lufthansa Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), trading as the Lufthansa Group, is a German aviation group. Its major and founding subsidiary airline Lufthansa German Airlines, branded as Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. It ranks List of largest airlin ...

, Beats by Dre,

Deutsche Telekom Deutsche Telekom AG (, ; often just Telekom, DTAG or DT; stylised as ·T·) is a partially state-owned German telecommunications company headquartered in Bonn and the largest telecommunications provider in Europe by revenue. It was formed in 199 ...

, and many others. In 2020/2021, Verhoeven created and co-directed the sports documentary series ''FC Bayern – Behind the Legend'', produced by Wiedemann und Berg. The docu focuses on

FC Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional association foo ...

's successful soccer/football 6-title-winning season 2020/2021 under manager Hansi Flick, as well as their legend-rich past. It's exclusively screened on Amazon Prime from 2 November 2021. In 2021/2022, Verhoeven directed and wrote the Milli-Vanilli-

Biopic A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or group of people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudrama films and histo ...

'' Girl You Know It's True'', which was filmed in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

, and

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. The film was again produced by Wiedemann & Berg Film, with Leonine as the theatrical distributor. The movie, stars

Matthias Schweighöfer 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 2021, Sch ...

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 Franz Reuther (18 July 1941 – 23 January 2024), known professionally as Frank Farian, was a German record producer and singer who founded the 1970s disco-pop group Boney M., the pop band No Mercy, and the pop band Milli Vanilli. He frequent ...

, and Tijan Njie and Elan Ben Ali as the infamous dancers / faux-singers Rob Pilatus and Fab Morvan. It will be released in cinemas 2023. Associate producers are Jasmin Davis, daughter of the late John Davis, and Brad Howell, the true voices behind Milli Vanilli. Carmen Pilatus, sister of the late Rob Pilatus, Milli Vanilli's former assistant Todd Headlee, and Ingrid Segieth aka Milli, are also attached as associate producers. As his writing and directing idols, Verhoeven names the comedy legends

Billy Wilder Billy Wilder (; ; born Samuel Wilder; June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002) was an American filmmaker and screenwriter. His career in Hollywood (film industry), Hollywood spanned five decades, and he is regarded as one of the most brilliant and ver ...

and

Ernst Lubitsch Ernst Lubitsch (; ; January 29, 1892November 30, 1947) was a German-born American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His urbane comedies of manners gave him the reputation of being Hollywood's most elegant and sophisticated director; a ...

– who both started their careers in Germany before moving to Hollywood.

Acting career

Before following in his father Michael Verhoeven's filmmaking footsteps – an infamous political auteur of the

New German Cinema New German Cinema () is a period in Cinema of Germany, West German cinema which lasted from 1962 to 1982, in which a new generation of directors emerged who, working with low budgets, and influenced by the French New Wave and Italian Neorealism, ...

who caused the shutdown of the

Berlinale The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

Competition in 1970 –, Simon Verhoeven started out as a screen and TV actor like his mother

, who in her 70-year-spanning career starred alongside international screen legends

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor, and comedian. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Cool", he is regarded as one of the most popular entertainers of ...

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne, was an American actor. Nicknamed "Duke", he became a Pop icon, popular icon through his starring roles in films which were produced during Hollywood' ...

Kirk Douglas Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020) was an American actor and filmmaker. After an impoverished childhood, he made his film debut in '' The Strange Love of Martha Ivers'' (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. ...

Jeanne Moreau Jeanne Moreau (; 23 January 1928 – 31 July 2017) was a French actress, singer, screenwriter, director, and socialite. She made her theatrical debut in 1947, and established herself as one of the leading actresses of the Comédie-Française. Mo ...

Alain Delon Alain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon (; 8 November 1935 – 18 August 2024) was a French actor, film producer, screenwriter, singer, and businessman. Acknowledged as a cultural and cinematic leading man of the 20th century, Delon emerged as one of ...

Yul Brynner Yuliy Borisovich Briner (; July 11, 1920 – October 10, 1985), known professionally as Yul Brynner (), was a Russian-born actor. He was known for his portrayal of King Mongkut in the Rodgers and Hammerstein stage musical ''The King and I'' (19 ...

Charlton Heston Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923 – April 5, 2008) was an American actor. He gained stardom for his leading man roles in numerous Cinema of the United States, Hollywood films including biblical epics, science-fiction f ...

Albert Finney Albert Finney (9 May 1936 – 7 February 2019) was an English actor. He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and worked in the theatre before attaining fame for movie acting during the early 1960s, debuting with '' The Entertainer'' ( ...

, Robert Vaughn,

Robert Wagner Robert John Wagner Jr. (born February 10, 1930) is an American actor. He is known for starring in the television shows ''It Takes a Thief (1968 TV series), It Takes a Thief'' (1968–1970), ''Switch (American TV series), Switch'' (1975–1978), ...

, and many more. Verhoeven landed his first film role while still studying in New York, playing in the 1995 indie comedy ''Party Girl'' next to Parker Posey and Liev Schreiber. The same year he was directed by his father in '. In the Russian-German co-production ''Vasilia'' (2000) he worked alongside punk icon

Nina Hagen Catharina "Nina" Hagen (; born 11 March 1955) is a German singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her theatrical vocals and rise to prominence during the punk and Neue Deutsche Welle movements in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She is ...

. Back in Germany, he acted in many made-for-TV romantic comedies, but Verhoeven also took on more substantial roles particularly in films based on true events: In

Bruce Beresford Bruce Beresford (; born 16 August 1940) is an Australian film director, opera director, screenwriter, and producer. He began his career during the Australian New Wave, and has made more than 30 feature films over a 50-year career, both locally ...

's '' Bride of the Wind'' (2001) he plays

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the , was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined Decorative arts, crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., ...

director

Walter Gropius Walter Adolph Georg Gropius (; 18 May 1883 – 5 July 1969) was a German-born American architect and founder of the Bauhaus, Bauhaus School, who is widely regarded as one of the pioneering masters of modernist architecture. He was a founder of ...

, in

Sönke Wortmann Sönke Wortmann (; 25 August 1959 in Marl, North Rhine-Westphalia) is a German film director and producer. Biography Wortmann's father was a miner. After Wortmann's A-Levels he wanted to become a professional football player and started playi ...

's '' The Miracle of Bern'' (2006) he embodies the 1954 football World Cup winner Ottmar Walter, in '' The Sinking of the Laconia'' (2010) he is the 1940s naval officer Harro Schacht, and in the multi-award-winning thriller '' Mogadischu'' (2008), he plays the Lufthansa flight 181 pilot Jürgen Vietor in this retelling of the 1977 Palestinian hostage crisis. Verhoeven's recent acting parts so far were cameos in his two '' Men in the City'' comedies and ''Nightlife''.

Awards (selected)

* Bavarian Film Awards - ( 2009) Best Screenplay for ''Men in the City'' * Bogey Awards - (2009) for 1 million tickets sold within 10 days of release for ''Men in the City'' * Jupiter Award - ( 2010) Best German Film for ''Men in the City'' * Lola German Film Awards - (2016) Most Successful Film for ''Welcome to Germany'' * Bavarian Film Awards - ( 2016) Best Film + Audience Award for ''Welcome to Germany'' * Bogey Awards - (2016) for 1 million tickets sold within 10 days of release for ''Welcome to Germany'' *

Goldene Leinwand The Goldene Leinwand (Golden Screen) is an award created in 1964 by the HDF ("Hauptverband Deutscher Filmtheater e.V.", literally translated "Main Association For Movie Theatres") and the journal ''Filmecho/Filmwoche''. Like a Golden Record, it is ...

- (2016) for over 3 million tickets sold within 18 months of release for ''Welcome to Germany'' * AZ Stern des Jahres - (2016) for ''Welcome to Germany'' * Peace Prize of German Film "The Bridge" ( Friedenspreis des Deutschen Films "Die Brücke") - (2017) for ''Welcome to Germany'' *

Bambi ''Bambi'' is a 1942 American Animated film, animated Coming of age, coming-of-age drama film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. Loosely based on Felix Salten's 1923 novel ''Bambi, a Life in the Woods'', the ...

- (2017) Best German Film for ''Welcome to Germany'' *

GQ Men of the Year Awards ''GQ'' (short for ''Gentlemen's Quarterly'' and previously known as ''Apparel Arts'') is an international monthly men's magazine based in New York City and founded in 1931. The publication focuses on fashion, style, and culture for men, though ...

- (2017) Special Achievement Award for ''Welcome to Germany'' * Jupiter Award - ( 2017) Best German Film for ''Welcome to Germany'' * European Film Award - ( 2017) Best Comedy (nominated) for ''Welcome to Germany'' * German Comedy Awards - (2017) Best Film Comedy for ''Welcome to Germany'' * Günther Rohrbach Preis - (2017) Best Screenplay for ''Welcome to Germany''
European Union Film Festival Toronto
- (2018) Audience Award * Romy - (2020) Best Screenplay for ''Nightlife''
Monte-Carlo Comedy Film Festival
- (2020) Best Film + Best Director + Audience Award + Special Mention: Cast for ''Nightlife'' * Ernst-Lubitsch-Preis of the Berlin film critic society - (2020) Best Comedy for ''Nightlife'' * Lola German Film Awards - (2021) Most Successful Film for ''Nightlife''

Filmography

Director/screenwriter

*'' 100 Pro'' (2001), also music composer *'' Men in the City'' (2009) *'' Men in the City 2'' (2011), also music composer *'' Friend Request'' (2016) *'' Welcome to Germany'' (2016), also producer *''

'' (2020) *''FC Bayern – Behind the Legend'' (2021), documentary series - also creator *'' Girl You Know It's True'' (2022), also co-producer

Actor (selected)

*'' Party Girl'' (1995), with Parker Posey *' (1995), also music composer, directed by Michael Verhoeven * ''Vasilisa'' (2000), with

*'' Bride of the Wind'' (2001), with

Jonathan Pryce Sir Jonathan Pryce (born John Price; 1 June 1947) is a Welsh actor. He is known for his performances on stage and in film and television. He has received numerous awards, including two Tony Awards and two Laurence Olivier Awards as well as nom ...

*'' The Miracle of Bern'' (2003) *''Girls on Top 2 ( Mädchen, Mädchen 2 – Loft oder Liebe'') (2004) *' (2005) *'' Mogadischu'' (2008) *'' The Sinking of the Laconia'' (2010) *''Jerks'', TV comedy series (2021)

References

External links

*
Simon Verhoeven's Official WebsiteSentana Film Production Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Verhoeven, Simon 1972 births Film people from Munich German male film actors Living people German male writers German people of Austrian descent Tisch School of the Arts alumni Male actors from Munich