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Til Schweiger

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Til Schweiger
Schweiger in 2022
Born
Tilman Valentin Schweiger

(1963-12-19) 19 December 1963 (age 60)
Freiburg, West Germany
Occupations
  • Actor
  • filmmaker
Years active1989–present
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1995; div. 2014)​
Children4, including Luna, Lilli and Emma
Websitetil-schweiger.com

Tilman Valentin Schweiger (German pronunciation: [tɪl ˈʃvaɪɡɐ] ⓘ; 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 and founded his own production company Barefoot Films.[1] 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.[2]

Early life

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Schweiger was born in Freiburg, West Germany, to two teachers.[3] He grew up in Heuchelheim near Giessen in Hesse, where he went to school. Later, he took acting lessons at Der Keller in Cologne.[4]

Career

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Schweiger in 1998

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.[5] 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 USD 62,000,000.[6] 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 USD 45,000,000. 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).[7][8]

Onscreen, Schweiger first appeared as an actor in 1989 in the TV series Lindenstraße. His first film role came in 1991 with Manta, Manta.[9][10] 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 at the 2011 Boulevard der Stars ceremony in Berlin

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,[11] "only because his character was killing Nazis."

Schweiger then appeared in the US 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).[12]

Personal life

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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.[13]

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.[14]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Film Role Language Director Notes
1991 Manta, Manta Bertie German Wolfgang Büld First film in which he was the lead actor
1993 Ebbie's Bluff [de] Rudy German Claude-Oliver Rudolph Max-Ophüls-Preis Best Actor Newcomer Award
1994 Der bewegte Mann Axel Feldheim German Sönke Wortmann Bambi
1995 Bunte Hunde [de] Pepe Brenner German Lars Becker
1996 Jailbirds Steinbock German Detlev Buck Bambi; DIVA-Award
The Superwife Hajo Heiermann German Sönke Wortmann
1997 Knockin' on Heaven's Door Martin Brest German Thomas Jahn Also writer and producer
20th Moscow International Film Festival – Best Actor;[15] Jupiter Best Actor; Goldene Kamera Best Actor
Hercules Hercules English John Musker
Ron Clements 		Voice (German version, dubbed)
Bastard Brute English Maciej Dejczer Polish Film Festival[16] (Polish Oscar) Best Actor; Bravo Otto Best Actor
1998 The Replacement Killers Ryker English Antoine Fuqua
Judas Kiss Ruben Rubenbauer English Sebastian Gutierrez
SLC Punk! Mark English James Merendino
The Polar Bear Leo German Til Schweiger Also producer
1999 The Devil and Ms. D [de] Stanislaus Nagy German Bernd Eichinger
2000 Magicians Max English James Merendino
2001 Driven Beau Brandenburg English Renny Harlin
Investigating Sex Monty English Alan Rudolph
What to Do in Case of Fire? Tim German Gregor Schnitzler
2002 Joe and Max Max Schmeling English Steve James
2003 Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life Sean English Jan de Bont
2004 In Enemy Hands Captain Jonas Herdt English Tony Giglio
King Arthur Cynric English Antoine Fuqua
Traumschiff Surprise – Periode 1 Rock Fertig Aus German Michael Herbig Bambi Best Actor
Les Dalton Lucky Luke French Philippe Haïm
2005 Barefoot Nick Keller German Til Schweiger Also writer and producer
Bambi Best Film
Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo Heinz Hummer the Gigolo with the most below English Mike Bigelow
2006 Bye Bye Harry! Gantcho English Robert Young
One Way Eddie Schneider English Reto Salimbeni Also producer
Where Is Fred? Fred Krüppers German Anno Saul Jupiter Best Actor
2007 Body Armour John Ridley English Gerry Lively
Rabbit Without Ears Ludo Decker German Til Schweiger Also writer and producer
Ernst-Lubitsch-Preis Best Comedy ; Bambi Best Film; Deutscher Comedypreis Best Comedy; Jupiter Best Film; 2x DIVA-Award Best Film
Already Dead The Man[17] English Joe Otting
2008 The Red Baron Werner Voss English Nikolai Müllerschön Bravo Otto
Far Cry Jack Carver English Uwe Boll
1½ Knights – In Search of the Ravishing Princess Herzelinde Ritter Lanze German Til Schweiger Also producer
2009 Phantom Pain [de] Marc German Matthias Emcke
Inglourious Basterds Sgt. Hugo Stiglitz English
French
German 		Quentin Tarantino Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
Men in the City Jerome Ades German Simon Verhoeven
Rabbit Without Ears 2 Ludo Decker German Til Schweiger Also writer and producer
Deutscher Comedypreis Best Comedy
2011 Kokowääh Henry German Til Schweiger Also writer and producer
The Three Musketeers Cagliostro English Paul W. S. Anderson
Men in the City 2 [de] Jerome German Simon Verhoeven
New Year's Eve James Schwab English Garry Marshall
2012 This Means War Heinrich English McG
The Courier FBI agent English Hany Abu-Assad
Guardians Max German Til Schweiger Also producer
2013 Charlie Countryman Darko English Fredrik Bond
Kokowääh 2 Henry German Til Schweiger Also writer and producer
No-Eared Bunny and Two-Eared Chick No-Eared Bunny German Til Schweiger Also writer and producer
2014 Muppets Most Wanted German Cop English James Bobin
Head Full of Honey Niko Rosenbach German Til Schweiger
2016 Tschiller: Off Duty [de] Nick Tschiller German Christian Alvart
Vier gegen die Bank Chris German Wolfgang Petersen
2017 Atomic Blonde The Watchmaker English David Leitch
2018 Hot Dog [de] Luke Steiner German Torsten Künstler [de]
Klassentreffen 1.0 [de] Thomas German Til Schweiger Remake of The Reunion
Head Full of Honey London Restaurant Waiter English Til Schweiger English-language remake
2020 Die Hochzeit Thomas German Til Schweiger
2022 Medieval Henry III of Rosenberg English Petr Jákl
2023 Manta, Manta: Legacy Bertie German Til Schweiger
2024 The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare Heinrich Luhr English Guy Ritchie


Television

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Year TV Show Role Director Notes
1989–1992 Lindenstraße Jo Zenker 37 episodes
1994 Lemgo Jan Peters Jörg Grünler [de]
1994–1996 Die Kommissarin Nick Siegel 26 episodes
1996 Adrenalin Stefan Renner Dominique Othenin-Girard
A Girl Called Rosemary Nadler Bernd Eichinger
Teenage Wolfpack [de] Freddy Urs Egger
2002 Joe and Max Max Schmeling Steve James
2013–2016 Tatort Nick Tschiller Christian Alvart Tatort in Hamburg (4 episodes)
2020 Tatort: Tschill Out Nick Tschiller Eoin Moore Tatort
2022 Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin Pickle Host #1 Richie Keen Episode: "Verschlimmbessern"

Awards

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References

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  1. ^ "Barefoot Films". barefootfilms.de.
  2. ^ Freisinger, Gisela Maria (28 May 2017). "Til Schweiger: Seine Vertragsdetails mit Warner Bros". Manager Magazin (in German). Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  3. ^ Redaktion (27 March 2019). "Til Schweiger sinniert darüber, wie es wäre, Lehrer zu sein". News4teachers (in German). Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  4. ^ "Schauspielschule / Theater der Keller". theater-der-keller.de. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  5. ^ "Barfuss: Bambi für Til Schweiger! - Filmnews - Filmmag.de". Archived from the original on 30 July 2012.
  6. ^ "Keinohrhasen (2007) – Financial Information". The-numbers.com. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  7. ^ "Til Schweigers Freundin: Hat er jemanden an seiner Seite?". 18 August 2023.
  8. ^ "VHV Versicherungen: Neue TV-Spot Premiere mit Til Schweiger". 23 June 2015.
  9. ^ "Til Schweiger biography and filmography". tribute.ca. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  10. ^ "Til Schweiger movies". listal.com. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  11. ^ Brad Pitt and Quentin Tarantino interview by Elvis Mitchell (at 01:29)
  12. ^ "В Минске завершились съемки проморолика про дрифт". БелТА.
  13. ^ ${time} (21 May 2014). "Til und Dana Schweiger geschieden: Tatort-Kommissar offiziell solo" (in German). N24.de. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  14. ^ "Jan Ullrich arrested for jumping Til Schweiger's fence in Mallorca". Deutsche Welle. 5 August 2018. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
  15. ^ "20th Moscow International Film Festival (1997)". MIFF. Archived from the original on 22 March 2013. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
  16. ^ [1] Internet Movie Database: Bandyta – Awards
  17. ^ [2] Internet Movie Database: Already Dead
  18. ^ "CIVIS Medienstiftung – Startseite". www.civismedia.eu.
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