Ulrich Matthes

Ulrich Matthes is a German actor born on 9 May 1959. He is best known for portraying Joseph Goebbels in the 2004 film Downfall. Alongside Martin Umbach, Matthes also serves as the standard German voice actor for Kenneth Branagh.

Matthes was born in West Berlin and received his early education at the Evangelisches Gymnasium zum Grauen Kloster. During the early 1980s, he studied acting in Berlin under the instruction of Else Bongers.

Throughout his film career, Matthes has appeared in notable cinematic roles. In addition to Downfall, he played Fr. Henri Kremer, a Catholic priest imprisoned at Dachau, in the 2004 movie The Ninth Day. His other feature film credits include Rider of the Flames and the 2016 production Pelnu Sanatorija, also known as Exiled.

Matthes has also built an extensive background in television. His work includes a 1995 appearance as Danzer in Wolffs Revier: Sommersprossen, four episodes of Derrick between 1987 and 1997, and a 1997 role as Andreas Gobel in The Old Fox: Der Tod der Eltern. Between 1997 and 1999, he acted in two episodes of Polizeiruf 110, followed by a role as Michael Strobel in a 2000 episode of Ein Fall für zwei titled Blutiges Pfand.

In 2008, Matthes portrayed Victor Hauptmann in Proof of Life, a crossover story between The Bill and Leipzig Homicide. He later played Günther Kremer in the 2011 Tatort episode Stille Wasser and Richard Harloff in the 2014 Tatort episode Im Schmerz geboren. His television work further includes the production Bornholmer Straße, the 2019 project Sarah Kohr: Das verschwundene Mädchen as Artem Lasarew, and the 2020 series Das Boot.

In addition to acting, Matthes served in 2019 on the jury that selected Pauline Curnier Jardin as the winner of the Preis der Nationalgalerie. In February 2021, Matthes came out as gay. In April 2023, he was one of 22 guests present at Schloss Bellevue in Berlin when President Frank-Walter Steinmeier decorated former Chancellor Angela Merkel with the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit for special achievement.

Over his career, Matthes has received numerous honors. His accolades include the 1985 Förderpreis für Literatur der Landeshauptstadt Düsseldorf in Northrhine-Westphalia, the 1999 Bavarian Film Award for Best Actor for Rider of the Flames, the 2003 Deutscher Hörbuchpreis, the 2007 Theaterpreis Berlin, and the 2008 Deutscher Theaterpreis Der Faust.

In 2015, Matthes won the Goldene Kamera for Best German Actor for his roles in Tatort: Im Schmerz geboren and Bornholmer Straße, as well as a Grimme-Preis for Tatort: Im Schmerz geboren and a German Television Academy Award for Bornholmer Straße. He won the Lielais Kristaps for Best Actor in 2016 for Pelnu Sanatorija (Exiled), and was awarded the Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 2022.