Niels Schneider

Niels Schneider (born 18 June 1987) is a Franco-Canadian actor. He had his breakthrough role in Xavier Dolan's film I Killed My Mother (2009), and gained international recognition in Dolan's Heartbeats (2010). In 2011, he won the Trophée Chopard Award for Male Revelation of the Year at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2017, he won the César Award for Most Promising Actor for his performance in Dark Inclusion (2016). In 2019, he was named a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters in France.

Early life
Born in Paris, and a naturalized Canadian, Schneider moved to Montreal at the age of 9 to start his career doing voice-over jobs. His father, Jean-Paul Schneider, was an actor, and his mother, Isabelle Schneider, was a model. His paternal grandmother was a Russian Jewish immigrant, who arrived in France as a child after fleeing the Russian Revolution in 1920.

He has four brothers, including actor Aliocha Schneider. On 8 September 2003, his eldest brother, actor Vadim Schneider, died at the age of 17 alongside actress Jaclyn Linetsky in a road accident while they were driving to the filming of an episode of 15/Love, when the minivan lost control and collided with oncoming traffic.

Career
Schneider had his breakthrough role in Xavier Dolan's directorial debut film, I Killed My Mother (2009), and gained international recognition in Dolan's second feature film, Heartbeats (2010). In 2011, he won the Trophée Chopard Award for Male Revelation of the Year at the Cannes Film Festival.

In 2017, he won the César Award for Most Promising Actor for his performance in Dark Inclusion (2016).

In 2023, he starred in the television series Of Money and Blood, directed by Xavier Giannoli

Personal life
Schneider is an atheist.

Since 2017, Schneider has been in a relationship with actress Virginie Efira, with whom he co-starred in the films An Impossible Love (2018) and Sibyl (2019). Their first child, a son, was born on 28 August 2023. They live in the 11th arrondissement of Paris.

In 2019, Schneider was named a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters in France.

In June 2024, Schneider signed a petition addressed to French President Emmanuel Macron demanding France to officially recognize the State of Palestine.

Decorations

 * Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters (2019)