Matthias Schoenaerts

Early life

Schoenaerts was born in Antwerp, Flanders, the Dutch-speaking region of Belgium. He is the son of actor Julien Schoenaerts (1925–2006) and Dominique Wiche (1953–2016), a costume designer, translator and French teacher. He has an older half brother, Bruno Schoenaerts (born 1953), who is a lawyer. Schoenaerts is of Flemish descent through his father. His maternal grandmother is from Liège, Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium. For the first six years of his life, he lived with his maternal grandparents in Brussels.

Schoenaerts grew up bilingual, speaking Dutch and French. He is also fluent in English, which he learned by watching American movies.

In 1987, at nine years old, he appeared in a stage production of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince opposite his father, who also directed the play. His mother, Dominique, was the costume designer of the play.

Schoenaerts started producing graffiti as a teenager under the pseudonym "Zenith". He went to New York City to collaborate with the Bronx group TATS CRU.

Schoenaerts was close to becoming a professional association football player and was on the books of Belgian team Beerschot AC, but gave up when he was 16 years old. In 2013, Schoenaerts said that he was a fan of the Spanish football club FC Barcelona.

Career

Early work in Belgium and Netherlands (1992–2011)

At the age of 13, Schoenaerts made his film debut with a small role in the 1992 Belgian film Daens, which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. His father starred in the film but they did not share any scenes together.

After completing studies at The Academy of Dramatic Arts in Antwerp, he featured in several shorts and feature films. In 2002, he starred in Dorothée Van Den Berghe's Meisje (Girl); Tom Barman's Any Way the Wind Blows in 2003; Rudolf Mestdagh's Ellektra and Roel Mondelaers and Raf Reyntjens's sci-fi short film A Message from Outer Space, which Schoenaerts also produced in 2004. In 2003, Schoenaerts was named one of "Europe's Shooting Stars" by the European Film Promotion.

In 2006, Schoenaerts played Dennis in Hilde Van Mieghem's Love Belongs to Everyone. He had a small role as a member of the Dutch resistance in Paul Verhoeven's Black Book.

In 2007, he starred in Ben van Lieshout's film De Muze, and in Erik Bruyn's Nadine. In 2008, he played Bob in Pieter van Hees's horror film Left Bank, and most notably played the role of Filip in Erik Van Looy's Loft, which became the most successful Flemish film at the Belgian box-office, earning over $7,075,161. In the same year, Schoenaerts starred in the mini-series The Emperor of Taste (De smaak van De Keyser), playing a Belgian soldier in World War II.

In 2009, he starred in Dorothée Van Den Berghe's My Queen Karo, in which he played the hippie Raven in 1970s Amsterdam. In 2010, he played the lead role in Alex Stockman's techno-thriller Pulsar, and had a cameo in Franck Richard's La Meute (The Pack).

In 2011, Schoenaerts starred in the Dutch films The Gang of Oss (De Bende van Oss) and The President (De President).

Breakthrough: ''Bullhead'' and ''Rust and Bone'' (2011–2013)

In 2011, Schoenaerts played Jacky Vanmarsenille, the lead role in Bullhead, directed by Michaël R. Roskam, which was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Oscar. His performance in the film was well received and won him the FIPRESCI Award for best actor at the Palm Springs International Film Festival in January 2012. The jury praised the actor's "superb portrayal of an innocent and sensitive man trapped in a truculent body." He also won the Magritte Award for Best Actor.

In 2012, he starred in Jacques Audiard's Rust and Bone (De rouille et d'os) alongside Marion Cotillard. The film premiered at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival and was a critical and box office hit in France. On 22 February 2013, Matthias won the César Award for Most Promising Actor for his role in Rust and Bone.

Schoenaerts produced and starred in the Belgian short film Death of a Shadow (Dood van een Schaduw), directed by Tom Van Avermaet. On 10 January 2013, the short film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film.

The New York Times described Schoenaerts as "the most versatile beefcake actor of our time" in 2012.

In 2013, he narrated the Flemish version of the Disneynature documentary Chimpanzee.

International success (2014-Present)

In 2014, Schoenaerts appeared alongside Clive Owen, Billy Crudup and again Marion Cotillard in the thriller Blood Ties, in which he played Anthony Scarfo. The film premiered at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.

He played Eric Deeds in The Drop, his second film with Michael R. Roskam, starring opposite Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace and James Gandolfini.

In 2015, Schoenaerts appeared in seven films: The Loft, the American remake of the Belgian film Loft, in which he played the same character and which was his first English-language film; in Saul Dibb's Suite Française, playing the German officer Bruno von Falk opposite Michelle Williams and Kristin Scott Thomas; in Thomas Vinterberg's Far from the Madding Crowd as Gabriel Oak, one of Carey Mulligan's three love interests; in Alan Rickman's period drama A Little Chaos, as French landscape architect André Le Nôtre, opposite Kate Winslet. In the same year, Schoenaerts was announced as William Clark on HBO's miniseries Lewis and Clark, co-starring Casey Affleck as Meriwether Lewis. Production got shut down in August 2015 due to "internal and external, weather-related factors".

Schoenaerts starred in Alice Winocour's French thriller Disorder (Maryland), as an ex-soldier suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, for which his performance was highly praised. He played Paul in Luca Guadagnino's erotic thriller A Bigger Splash, starring opposite Tilda Swinton, Ralph Fiennes and Dakota Johnson, and played the art-dealer Hans Axgil in Tom Hooper's The Danish Girl. A Bigger Splash and The Danish Girl made their world premieres at the 2015 Venice Film Festival, both were screened in the official competition.

On 28 July 2015, Schoenaerts was named a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters in France.

In January 2016, it was announced that Schoenaerts would play a drummer who begins to lose his hearing in Darius Marder's Sound of Metal. After a couple of years in development, Schoenaerts was replaced by Riz Ahmed.

In 2017, Schoenaerts reteamed with Michaël R. Roskam in the Belgian film Racer and the Jailbird (Le Fidèle), in the role of a gangster named Gigi. The film was Roskam and Schoenaerts's first film in Belgium since 2011's Bullhead. In the same year, Schoenaerts played Gene, Jane Fonda's son on the Netflix film Our Souls at Night, also starring Robert Redford and directed by Ritesh Batra.

He worked again with director Thomas Vinterberg in 2018's Kursk, a film about the Kursk submarine disaster of 2000 in which Schoenaerts played Russian Navy captain-lieutenant Mikhail Kalekov.

In 2018, Schoenaerts co-starred in Francis Lawrence's spy thriller Red Sparrow in the role of Uncle Vanya opposite Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Edgerton and Jeremy Irons. He starred in the Belgian-French film Close Enemies, directed by David Oelhoffen.

In 2019, Schoenaerts appeared as Captain Herder in Terrence Malick's A Hidden Life, as Maywood in Steven Soderbergh's The Laundromat, and as Roman Coleman, an inmate who participates in a rehabilitation program centered around training of wild horses in Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre's The Mustang. In 2020, he appeared in Gina Prince-Bythewood's The Old Guard as Booker / Sébastien le Livre, once a French soldier who fought under Napoleon.

In 2021, Schoenaerts starred as Peter Flood in Jeremie Guez's Brothers by Blood and as Jurgen in the Flemish TV anthology Lockdown episode "Zuur" alongside him was Veerle Baetens. His upcoming works include Terrence Malick's The Way of the Wind, Justin Kurzel's Ruin alongside Margot Robbie, and David O. Russell's Amsterdam. In 2023, He starred in the TV series Django as the title character.

In September 2024 Schoenaerts was cast in the DC Universe film Supergirl as the villain Krem of the Yellow Hills, with Milly Alcock starring as the title character.

Other ventures

Schoenaerts was the face of Louis Vuitton Menswear Spring/Summer 2014.

Directorial debut

His directorial debut, Franky, is a documentary about a one-legged childhood friend of his who became an MMA fighter, Franky van Hove. The documentary is currently in post-production.

Hakuna Casting

On 24 August 2015, it was reported that Schoenaerts became the co-owner of the Belgian casting agency Hakuna Casting, which focuses on people of ethnic origin.

The agency has collaborated on the casting of films like Black by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, and Belgica by Felix Van Groeningen.

Legal issues

In December 2025, Schoenaerts was sentenced in Beringen to six months imprisonment, a €4,000 fine, and a one-year driving ban, after the actor was caught driving illegally without a valid license.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

Other honors

• Flemish Television Star: 2008
• Flemish Film Personality: 2011
• [[File:Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Chevalier ribbon.svg|40px]] Knight in the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres: 2015

References

References

1. (13 November 2012). "Marion Cotillard and Matthias Schoenaerts Reveal Favorite American Things". Young Hollywood.
2. (24 September 2012). "DP/30: Rust and Bone, actors Marion Cotillard, Matthias Schoenaerts". DP/30.
3. "Bruno Schoenaerts op Netlog". netlog.com.
4. (7 March 2015). "Matthias Schoenaerts interview: 'I think cautious is boring. I want to be bad'". [[The Sunday Telegraph]].
5. (23 November 2016). "Rencontre avec Matthias Schoenaerts, un être au talent ravageur". So Soir.
6. (5 April 2016). "Matthias Schoenaerts, l'archange aux mains nuese". Le Monde.
7. (21 November 2012). "They're Antiheroes: Matthias Schoenaerts on Rust and Bone". craveonline.com.
8. (20 March 2013). "Matthias Schoenaerts Looking for His Next Crush". Under the Radar.
9. McGovern, Joe. (28 April 2015). "Talking love and movies with 'Belgian Brando' Matthias Schoenaerts". [[Entertainment Weekly.
10. "9-year-old Matthias Schoenaerts playing The Little Prince with his father Julien in 1987". YouTube.
11. "VTi – Producties – De kleine prins (1987–1988)". data.vti.be.
12. (10 May 2015). "Graffitimuur Matthias Schoenaerts deels gesloopt". Gazet van Antwerpen.
13. (8 March 2013). "Good Morning, Matthias Schoenaerts". [[The New York Times]].
14. (2 May 2015). "Matthias Schoenaerts: 'I have a very interesting problem with authority'". [[The Irish Times]].
15. (25 January 2012). "Rundskop is een Rat". sport.be.
16. "Meisje/Girl (2002) – Trailer". YouTube.
17. "eLLektra -Rudolf Mestdagh". rudolfmestdagh.com.
18. (12 August 2015). "A Message From Outer Space (2004) Trailer – Matthias Schoenaerts". YouTube.
19. "Matthias Schoenaerts – Shooting Star 2003". efp-online.com.
20. (16 December 2012). "De Muze/The Muse (2007) – Trailer with Matthias Schoenaerts". YouTube.
21. (19 February 2009). "'Loft' breekt record van 'Koko Flanel'". [[De Standaard]].
22. Van Baelen, Carl. (17 May 2011). "Matthias Schoenaerts completes cast of 'Loft'". TheCelebrityCafe.com.
23. (14 November 2008). "The Emperor of Taste tailer". YouTube.
24. (18 January 2010). "Trailer My Queen Karo". YouTube.
25. "The Gang of Oss – Mountain Road". mountainroad.nl.
26. "DE PRESIDENT trailer". YouTube.
27. Pond, Steve. (15 January 2012). "'Starbuck' Wins Top Palm Springs Fest Award". Reuters.
28. (19 January 2012). "Matthias Schoenaerts Wins Best Actor Palm Springs International Film Festival". Positive Impact Magazine.
29. (26 November 2012). "Marion Cotillard and Matthias Schoenaerts – Young Hollywood Interview". YouTube.
30. (7 September 2011). "Marion Cotillard Takes Rust and Bone". ComingSoon.net.
31. (25 November 2012). "'Rust and Bone' helps keep French films highly visible". [[Los Angeles Times]].
32. "De rouille et d'os (Rust and Bone) (2012) – JPBox-Office". jpbox-office.com.
33. Richford, Rhonda. (22 February 2013). "Cesar Awards: 'Amour' Wins Best Picture, 'Argo' Best Foreign Language Film". The Hollywood Reporter.
34. (23 February 2013). "Cérémonie des César: Matthias Schoenaerts, meilleur espoir masculin". [[La Libre Belgique]].
35. (28 September 2012). "Death of a Shadow – Trailer". YouTube.
36. (10 January 2013). "Death of a Shadow nominated for Best Live Action Short Oscar". Flandersimage.com.
37. Jagernauth, Kevin. (23 February 2013). "Interview: César Winner Matthias Schoenaerts Talks Oscar Nominated Short 'Death Of A Shadow'". [[IndieWire]].
38. (9 September 2012). "Breakout Actors of the New Season". [[The New York Times]].
39. "Matthias Schoenaerts in Disneynature's "Chimpanzee"". filmfreak.be.
40. De Becker, Annelies. (12 April 2012). "Schoenaerts speelt met Mila Kunis in 'Blood Ties'". HLN.be.
41. Dang, Simon. (16 April 2012). "Lili Taylor & 'The Wire' Star Domenick Lombardozzi Join 'Blood Ties'; 'Bullhead' & 'Rust & Bone' Star Matthias Schoenaerts Confirmed". [[IndieWire]].
42. Jagernauth, Kevin. (23 February 2013). "Exclusive: Matthias Schoenaerts Joins 'Animal Rescue' With Tom Hardy & Noomi Rapace". IndieWire.
43. Bustos, Kristina. (25 November 2012). "Matthias Schoenaerts joins Michelle Williams in 'Suite Française'". [[Digital Spy]].
44. (29 September 2015). "Carey Mulligan handpicked Matthias Schoenaerts for 'Far from the Madding Crowd'". YouTube.
45. Tartaglione, Nancy. (17 May 2013). "Carey Mulligan, Matthias Schoenaerts Set For Searchlight's 'Far From The Madding Crowd'". PMC.
46. Jagernauth, Kevin. (17 January 2013). "Kate Winslet & Matthias Schoenaerts To Star in Alan Rickman Directed Period Drama 'A Little Chaos'". IndieWire.
47. (30 January 2015). "'Lewis And Clark' Miniseries Gets Formal Greenlight By HBO; Matthias Schoenaerts To Star With Casey Affleck". [[Deadline Hollywood]].
48. Keene, Allison. (August 5, 2015). "HBO Halts Production on LEWIS AND CLARK Miniseries Amid Creative Differences".
49. (5 November 2014). "Indie Sales Nabs Int'l Rights to Thriller 'Close Protection' (EXCLUSIVE)". [[Variety (magazine).
50. (15 May 2014). "Tilda Swinton, Ralph Fiennes, Margot Robbie & Matthias Schoenaerts Team For Luca Guadagnino's Sexy Thriller". [[Indiewire]].
51. (27 July 2015). "First still of "A Bigger Splash": Matthias Schoenaerts, Tilda Swinton, Dakota Johnson and Ralph Fiennes". imgur.com.
52. (8 January 2015). "Matthias Schoenaerts joins Tom Hooper's The Danish Girl". [[Empire (magazine).
53. (5 March 2015). "A lover not a fighter". [[The Herald (Glasgow).
54. (30 July 2015). "Two Matthias Schoenaerts' movies at Venice Film Festival". deredactie.be.
55. (29 July 2015). "Venice Festival: Dakota Johnson, Matthias Schoenaerts to Pull Double Duty". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
56. (28 July 2015). "Matthias Schoenaerts fait Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres en France". rtbf.be.
57. (22 January 2016). "Dakota Johnson, Matthias Schoenaerts to star in The Sound of Metal".
58. Kroll, Justin. (July 20, 2018). "Riz Ahmed and Olivia Cooke to Star in Music Drama ‘Sound of Metal’".
59. (4 February 2016). "Wallimage’s eclectic first session of 2016 includes Michael Roskam and Dany Boon". cineuropa.org.
60. (9 September 2016). "Robert Redford, Jane Fonda reunite in Netflix’s Our Souls at Night".
61. (9 September 2016). "Robert Redford & Jane Fonda Re-Team for Our Souls at Night". ComingSoon.net.
62. (24 February 2016). "Matthias Schoenaerts talks about his next projects at ELLE Style Awards 2016". [[YouTube]].
63. (26 February 2016). "Matthias Schoenaerts werkt opnieuw samen met Thomas Vinterberg". Vertigoweb.be.
64. (2 March 2016). "Matthias Schoenaerts Starring in Submarine Disaster Movie ‘Kursk’". [[Variety (magazine).
65. (6 December 2016). "Jeremy Irons, Matthias Schoenaerts Join Jennifer Lawrence’s Spy Thriller ‘Red Sparrow’".
66. (September 3, 2018). "Matthias Schoenaerts and Reda Kateb interview on crime drama Close Enemies (Frères ennemis)".
67. Barfield, Charles. (October 18, 2018). "Matthias Schoenaerts, Jeffrey Wright & More Join Steven Soderbergh’s ‘The Laundromat’".
68. McNary, Dave. (November 28, 2018). "Film News Roundup: Matthias Schoenaerts’ Horse-Training Drama ‘Mustang’ Set for March Release".
69. Kit, Borys. (May 31, 2019). "Matthias Schoenaerts, Luca Marinelli Board Charlize Theron Action Thriller 'The Old Guard'".
70. "Cannes: Matthias Schoenaerts, Garrett Hedlund and Scoot McNairy Team for 'Sound of Philadelphia'".
71. "Matthias Schoenaerts, Veerle Baetens en Rik Verheye: sterrenparade in nieuwe mini-fictiereeksen van Eén".
72. "VRT Eén Presents Lockdown (16+)".
73. "Terrence Malick Casts Mark Rylance, Matthias Schoenaerts, and Géza Röhrig in ‘The Last Planet’".
74. "Margot Robbie & Matthias Schoenaerts To Star In WWII Thriller ‘Ruin’ For Justin Kurzel & MadRiver".
75. "Robert De Niro, Mike Myers, Timothy Olyphant, Michael Shannon, Chris Rock, Anya Taylor-Joy & More Join David O. Russell Movie".
76. Kit, Borys. (2024-09-24). "‘Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow’ Casts Matthias Schoenaerts in Villain Role".
77. (11 January 2014). "Actor Matthias Schoenaerts Is The New Face of Louis Vuitton". Bello Mag.
78. (16 May 2012). "Schoenaerts to helm 'Franky'". [[Variety (magazine).
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82. (2 December 2025). "Supergirl Villain Matthias Schoenaerts Sentenced to 6 Months in Jail". ComingSoon.
83. Daniels, Nia. (January 13, 2025). "DC's Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow shoots in the UK with Jason Momoa".
84. (10 November 2011). "BULLHEAD IS AWARD WINNER AT 2011 AFI FEST". drafthousefilms.com.
85. (16 January 2012). "Matthias Schoenaerts grabs international Press Award at Palm Springs". Flanders Image.
86. (16 September 2015). "Matthias Schoenaerts mobbed at Ostend". deredactie.be.
87. (29 December 2015). "Matthias Schoenaerts con il suo Danish girl oggi a CapriHollywood". it.celebrity.yahoo.com.
88. (2 January 2016). "'The Hateful Eight' Sweeps Capri-Hollywood Film Fest Awards". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
89. (24 February 2016). "Elle Style Awards 2016: Winners List". [[Harper's Bazaar]].
90. (14 September 2023). "Matthias Schoenaerts awards".
91. (5 January 2012). "Matthias Schoenaerts Vlaamse Filmpersoonlijkheid, 'Rundskop' Vlaamse Film 2011".
92. (28 July 2023). "Matthias Schoenaerts wordt Ridder in Franse Orde van Kunsten en Letteren".