Til Schweiger

Tilman Valentin Schweiger (; born 19 December 1963) is a German actor and filmmaker. He became known in the 1990s for films such as Manta, Manta, Der bewegte Mann and Knockin' on Heaven's Door. He went on to star in international film productions such as Inglourious Basterds, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life and King Arthur. He founded his own production company Barefoot Films. Films like Rabbit Without Ears, Rabbit Without Ears 2, Kokowääh and Head Full of Honey, in which he was director, producer and actor, drew large audiences, making Schweiger the most commercially successful German filmmaker.

Early life Schweiger was born in Freiburg, West Germany, to two teachers. He grew up in Heuchelheim near Giessen in Hesse, where he went to school. Later, he took acting lessons at Der Keller in Cologne.

Career

Schweiger's debut as a producer and (uncredited) director came in 1997 with Knockin' on Heaven's Door. He also directed and produced Der Eisbär (The Polar Bear) in 1998. Schweiger won a Bambi Award for Barfuss (Barefoot) in 2005, based on the original English screenplay "Barefoot" by Stephen Zotnowski, which he co-wrote, directed, and starred in. He also won a Bambi for his lead role in Traumschiff Surprise – Periode 1. In 2007, Keinohrhasen (this literally translates to "no ear rabbit" while the English title is Rabbit Without Ears), written, produced, and directed by Schweiger, became the most successful film in German theaters with a box office result of . The film won a Bambi, a Bavarian Film Award, the German Comedy Award, two DIVA Awards, a Jupiter Award and the Ernst Lubitsch Award. The sequel, Zweiohrküken (Rabbit Without Ears 2, literally "two ear chicks"), was released the following year with over 4.2 million viewers and a box office collection of . Schweiger then went on to direct, produce and star in 1½ Knights – In Search of the Ravishing Princess Herzelinde, which also proved a huge cinema hit on its release in 2008.

The movie Kokowääh debuted in German cinemas in February 2011. Schweiger's daughter Emma stars beside him, and the movie is also directed, co-written and produced by him. Schweiger and Emma reprised their roles as Henry and Magdalena, respectively, in its sequel, titled Kokowääh 2. The film was released on 7 February 2013. In 2012 Schweiger made a film alongside his daughter Luna named Schutzengel. In 2013, Schweiger also started to produce commercials with his daughters (Watchever, VHV Group).

Onscreen, Schweiger first appeared as an actor in 1989 in the TV series Lindenstraße. His first film role came in 1991 with Manta, Manta. Additional TV and film roles followed, including Der bewegte Mann (Maybe, Maybe Not), Männerpension (Jailbirds), Das Mädchen Rosemarie (A Girl Called Rosemary), Bastard (Bandyta), Der große Bagarozy (The Devil and Ms. D.), Was tun, wenn's brennt (What to Do in Case of Fire?), Les Daltons vs. Lucky Luke, The Red Baron, Wo ist Fred (Where is Fred?), Phantomschmerz (Phantom Pain), Männerherzen (Men in the City), and others.

Schweiger has also appeared as a supporting actor in American films, including Already Dead, King Arthur, In Enemy Hands, Magicians, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life, Driven, SLC Punk!, Investigating Sex, Joe and Max, The Replacement Killers and New Year's Eve. He wore a Nazi uniform for the first time in his career for his role in Inglourious Basterds but, as Quentin Tarantino revealed, "only because his character was killing Nazis."

Schweiger then appeared in the American productions The Courier with Mickey Rourke, This Means War (2012) with Chris Pine and Reese Witherspoon, and in 2013 as Darko in Charlie Countryman with Shia LaBeouf among others. He also made an appearance in 2014's Muppets Most Wanted, 2017's David Leitch's Atomic Blonde, and 2024's The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.

In November 2024, Til Schweiger took part in the filming of a promotional video about drift in Minsk (Belarus).

Personal life Schweiger married American model Dana Carlsen on 19 June 1995. They have four children: Valentin Florian Schweiger (born 1995), Luna Marie Schweiger (born 1997), Lilli Camille Schweiger (born 1998), and Emma Tiger Schweiger (born 2002). Schweiger and Carlsen separated in 2005 and were divorced in 2014.

Schweiger lives in Mallorca, Spain, and his neighbour is former German cyclist Jan Ullrich. In August 2018, Ullrich was arrested for allegedly breaking onto Schweiger's property and threatening him.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards

1994: Bambi for Der bewegte Mann 1995: Bambi for Jailbirds 1997: Preis des Gdynia Film Festival for Bastard as Best Actor 1998: Bravo Otto as Best Actor 1998: Goldene Kamera for Knockin' on Heaven's Door as Best Actor 2003: Hessischer Kulturpreis 2008: Jupiter for Wo ist Fred? as Best German Actor 2008: Ehren-Bravo Otto 2008: Bambi for Keinohrhasen as Best National Film 2008: Deutscher Comedypreis for Keinohrhasen as Best Theatrical Comedy Film 2009: Jupiter for Keinohrhasen 2009: 2x DIVA-Award for Keinohrhasen 2010: Deutscher Comedypreis for Zweiohrküken as Best Theatrical Comedy Film 2011: Deutscher Comedypreis for the Most Successful German Comedy Film: Kokowääh 2011: Querdenker-Award 2012: Jupiter for Kokowääh as Best Actor 2013: Deutscher Comedypreis for the Most Successful German Comedy Film: Kokowääh 2 2015: Romy in the categories Best Direction and Best Production in a Theatrical Film for Honig im Kopf 2015: Deutscher Filmpreis in the category Most Popular Film for Honig im Kopf 2015: CIVIS-Publikumspreis for Honig im Kopf 2015: Deutscher Comedypreis for the Most Successful German Comedy Film: Honig im Kopf 2015: Bambi for Honig im Kopf in the category Ehrenpreis der Jury 2020: Golden Eye Award of the Zurich Film Festival