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, Schweighöfer appeared in the Netflix film Army of the Dead, directed by Zack Snyder, as Ludwig Dieter. He reprised his role in the prequel film, Army of Thieves, which he also directed.

Early life
Born in Anklam, Western Pomerania, at the time part of the communist East Germany, 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.

Career
His first role in a feature film was Changing Skins (1997), directed by Andreas Dresen. In the following years, he appeared in projects such as Soloalbum (2003), Off Beat (2004), Eight Miles High (2007) and Rabbit Without Ears. Schweighöfer portrayed Lieutenant Franz Herber in Valkyrie, 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, Kenneth Branagh, Terence Stamp 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 Break Up Man. In 2017, he directed, produced and played the lead role in You Are Wanted, Amazon Studios' first non-English-language TV series.

In 2021, Schweighöfer appeared in the Netflix film Army of the Dead, directed by Zack Snyder, 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 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 is set to be released theatrically by Leonine in 2023.

In 2023, he portrayed physicist Werner Heisenberg 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 Verbotenes Verlangen
 * 2002: Günter Strack TV Award – Best Young Actor for the performance in Tatort - Gewaltfieber
 * 2003: Golden Camera – "Curt Jürgens Memorial Camera" for best newcomer and performances in Friends of Friends & Soloalbum
 * 2003: Adolf Grimme Award – 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 Baal 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 Kammerflimmern, 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: Taboo (2000 film) (Verbotenes Verlangen – Ich liebe meinen Schüler), as Ben Simon
 * 2000: Trust Me (Freunde), as Speedy
 * 2001: Babykram ist Männersache, as Malte
 * 2001: Heart Over Head (Herz im Kopf), as Dirk
 * 2002: At Night in the Park (Nachts im Park), as Hansen
 * 2002: Friends of Friends (2002 film) (TV film), as Gregor
 * 2002: FeardotCom, as Dieter Schrader
 * 2003: Soloalbum (Soloalbum), as Ben
 * 2003: Die Klasse von '99, as Felix
 * 2004: Baal (TV film), as Baal
 * 2004: Cold Spring (film) (Kalter Frühling, TV film), as Ben
 * 2004: Off Beat (Kammerflimmern), as Crash
 * 2004: Gold – The Tulse Luper Suitcases
 * 2005: The Young Schiller (TV film), as Friedrich Schiller
 * 2005: Polly Blue Eyes, as Ronny Helske
 * 2006: Lulu (TV film), as Jack the Ripper
 * 2007: Eight Miles High (Das wilde Leben), as Rainer Langhans
 * 2007: An Old Maid (TV film), as Felix
 * 2007: Fata Morgana, as Daniel
 * 2007: Rabbit Without Ears, as Moritz
 * 2008: The Red Baron (Der rote Baron), as Manfred von Richthofen
 * 2008: The Architect (2008 film), as Jan Winter
 * 2008: Valkyrie, as Lieutenant Herber
 * 2009: The Author of Himself: The Life of Marcel Reich-Ranicki (film) (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: Woman in Love (film), as Alexander Honk
 * 2012: Russian Disco, as Wladimir
 * 2013: Break Up Man, 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 (TV series), as Lukas Franke
 * 2018: Hot Dog, as Theo
 * 2018: Vielmachglas, as Erik Ruge
 * 2018: 100 Things, as Toni Katz
 * 2018: Kursk, as Pavel
 * 2019: Playmobil: The Movie, as Rex Dasher (German version)
 * 2020: Resistance, as Klaus Barbie
 * 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 as Josef Severin
 * 2023: Oppenheimer as Werner Heisenberg
 * 2023: Heart of Stone
 * 2023: Family Switch as Rolf
 * 2023: Girl You Know It's True

Theatre

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

Audiobooks

 * 2008: Slam by Nick Hornby, ISBN 978-3867178600
 * 2008: Die Traumnovelle by Arthur Schnitzler, ISBN 978-3829122092