Matthias Schweighöfer (German: ⓘ; 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, 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.
