Matthias Schweighöfer

Matthias Schweighöfer is a German actor and filmmaker known for his work in numerous German and American film and television productions. Born on March 11, 1981, he is the son of actors and resides in Berlin. Over the course of his career, he has achieved recognition both in Germany and internationally through roles in prominent feature films as well as through his work behind the camera as a director and producer.

Schweighöfer made his feature film debut in the 1997 movie Changing Skins, directed by Andreas Dresen. In subsequent years, he appeared in a variety of German projects, including Soloalbum in 2003, Off Beat in 2004, Eight Miles High in 2007, and Rabbit Without Ears. His performance as Lieutenant Franz Herber in the 2008 historical film Valkyrie, which dramatized the failed July 20 plot to kill Adolf Hitler and featured an international cast including Tom Cruise, Kenneth Branagh, Terence Stamp, and Bill Nighy, brought him recognition abroad and provided opportunities for further English-speaking roles.

In addition to acting, Schweighöfer expanded his career into business and filmmaking. In 2009, he co-founded the fashion label German Garment alongside TV presenter Joko Winterscheidt. He made his debut as a film director in 2010 with the romantic comedy What a Man, followed by his second directorial feature, Break Up Man, in 2013. In 2017, Schweighöfer directed, produced, and starred in You Are Wanted, which was Amazon Studios' first non-English-language television series.

Schweighöfer's work in international productions expanded in 2021 when he played Ludwig Dieter in the Zack Snyder Netflix film Army of the Dead. He reprised the role and served as director for the prequel film, Army of Thieves. In 2021 and 2022, he took on the role of music producer Frank Farian in Simon Verhoeven's biopic Girl You Know It's True, which centers on the pop duo Milli Vanilli and was released theatrically in December 2023. In 2023, he portrayed German theoretical physicist Werner Heisenberg in Christopher Nolan's biographical thriller Oppenheimer.

Beyond film and television, Schweighöfer has performed in theatrical productions in Berlin, including One, Two, Three at the Hebbel Theatre in 2004 and North at the Volksbühne in 2007. In 2008, he recorded audiobooks for Nick Hornby's Slam and Arthur Schnitzler's Die Traumnovelle. In his personal life, Schweighöfer dated Ani Schromm between 2004 and 2012, reuniting in 2013; the couple has a daughter born in 2009 and a son born in 2014. Following their separation, Schweighöfer began a relationship in 2018 with his Army of Thieves co-star Ruby O. Fee, and the couple married in January 2026.

Throughout his career, Schweighöfer has received numerous awards for his acting performances. His honors include the German Television Prize Promotional Award in 2000, the Günter Strack TV Award in 2002, and the Adolf Grimme Award, Golden Camera, and New Faces Award in 2003. He was also recognized with Bavarian Film Awards, special honors at the Baden-Baden TV and Film Festival, Undine Awards in 2005 and 2007, a DIVA-Award in 2006, a Bambi Award in 2007, a second Golden Camera in 2009, a Jupiter Award in 2010, and the GQ Man of the Year title in 2011.