Matthias Schweighöfer

He reprised his role in the prequel film, Army of Thieves, which he also directed. In 2023, he appeared in the role of German theoretical physicist Werner Heisenberg in Christopher Nolan's biographical thriller, Oppenheimer, about J. Robert Oppenheimer and the development of the atomic bomb during World War II.

He is the son of actors.

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 was released theatrically by Leonine in December 2023. In 2023, he portrayed physicist Werner Heisenberg in the Christopher Nolan biopic Oppenheimer.

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 2018 Schweighöfer has been in a relationship with his Army of Thieves co-star Ruby O. Fee. The couple were married in January 2026. Schweighöfer lives in Berlin.

Director Actor

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

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