Matthias Schoenaerts was born on December 8, 1977 in Antwerp, Belgium. His mother, Dominique Wiche, was a costume designer, translator and French teacher, his father is actor 'Julien Schoenaerts' , in which Schoenaerts will play the Captain of a Russian submarine.
His name is pronounced "Ma-tee-us Scone-arts".
Grew up bilingual speaking Flemish/Dutch and French. Hes also fluent in English, which he learned by watching American films.
Lives in Antwerp, Belgium.
Is a graffiti artist under the pseudonym "Zenith".
Has appeared in Belgian, Dutch, French, American, British and Italian films, in which he speaks Flemish, Dutch, French, English and German.
Son of actor Julien Schoenaerts and costume designer/translator/French teacher Dominique Wiche.
Was raised both by his mother in Antwerp and his grandmother in Brussels; his mother never married his father, who died in 2006. His mother died in 2016.
Has an older half-brother, Bruno Schoenaerts , a lawyer. And two deceased half-sisters, Helga Schoenaerts (1961-1982, suicide) and Sarah Schoenaerts (1955-2014, cancer).
Uncle of Ellen Schoenaerts.
Has a tattoo on his left inner arm, a triangle. This tattoo can be seen in the film A Bigger Splash .
Grew up loving and playing soccer, and also painting especially graffiti. Even went to New York City to collaborate briefly with Bronx group known as Tats Cru.
Was close to becoming a professional soccer player and was on the books of Antwerp team Beerschot AC, but gave up when he was 16. He appears in the documentary De Pleintjes playing soccer with kids in the same place in Antwerpen-Zuid where he used to play when he was a kid.
Is a fan of Belgian football club FCO Beerschot Wilrijk and of Spanish club FC Barcelona.
Spent a year in film school but was kicked out for poor attendance.
Was director Jan Verheyen s first choice to play Dieter in Alias , but Schoenaerts drama school refused to give him time off to star in the movie, so the part went to second choice Geert Hunaerts.
2003: Named as one of European films Shooting Stars by European Film Promotion.
Graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in Antwerp in 2003.
Appeared in two films with his father, Julien Schoenaerts : Daens and Ellektra , the latter is the only film in which they shared scenes together.
Starred in two films directed by Dorothe Van Den Berghe : Meisje and My Queen Karo .
His father Julien Schoenaerts was named "the Marlon Brando of Flanders". Since he starred in Rundskop and De rouille et dos , Matthias has been called "the Belgian Brando".
Is a fan of Daniel Day-Lewis , Simone Signoret , Marlon Brando , Al Pacino , Philip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix.
Starred in two films with Els Dottermans. She played his girlfriend in Meisje and years later she played his mother in Dennis van Rita .
Appeared in two films with Laura Verlinden : Loft and Dood van een Schaduw . They also appeared on the mini-series "De smaak van De Keyser" , although they didnt share any scene.
Auditioned for a role in David Cronenberg s A Dangerous Method . The audition went well and the casting agents wanted to call him back, however, he had pledged his commitment to Rundskop and so had to let the opportunity slip.
Had to cultivate 27 kilograms of muscle mass to apply himself to the role of Jacky Vanmarsenille in Rundskop , he prepped for the role for two years, committing to a diet of 3000 tins of tuna, several hundred chickens and plenty of oats, rice and pasta combined with an exhaustive weight lifting regimen. In addition, he also studied the Limburgish dialect to ensure he was performing with authenticity, so he wouldnt offend the natives. He also wore a prosthetic nose.
After putting on 27 kilos during two years to play Jacky in Rundskop and loosing it, he had to gain weight again to play Ali in De rouille et dos . He spent two months boxing, doing MMA training on a daily basis and also doing weightlifting and eating junk food like burgers, ice-cream and pizza in order to gain weight and a little belly, because Jacques Audiard wanted Ali to look strong but not fit, a bit unhealthy because the character is poor, so he doesnt have the means to feed himself properly.
His performance as Jacky Vanmarsenille in Rundskop and Tom Hardy s performance in Bronson were Steven Ogg s inspirations to play Trevor Phillips in Grand Theft Auto V . Steven Ogg revealed his inspirations at the New York Comic Con in October 2013. Schoenaerts and Hardy appeared together in the film The Drop directed by Michal R. Roskam , who is also Bullheads director.
Has starred opposite his friend Jeroen Perceval twice: in Injury Time and Rundskop .
Marion Cotillard revealed that the first and only time that she liked filming sex scenes was in De rouille et dos , on her scenes with Matthias.
First Belgian male actor to win a Csar award and one of 5 Belgian actors overall to win the award. The others are Natacha Rgnier , Ccile De France , Yolande Moreau and Dborah Franois.
Two films in which he played the lead received Oscar nominations in two consecutive years: Rundskop was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film in 2012 and Dood van een Schaduw was nominated for Best Live Action Short Film in 2013.
Was considered by director Jos Padilha for the lead role of RoboCop , but he dropped out because he thought that he wasnt prepared for a big movie like that yet. The part went to Joel Kinnaman. Theres a scene in De rouille et dos in which Schoenaerts character nicknames Marion Cotillard s character "RoboCop". Schoenaerts also worked with Paul Verhoeven , the director of the original RoboCop, in Zwartboek .
Was originally cast as Leo Woeste in Waste Land but dropped out. Jrmie Renier was cast instead.
As of 2015, has appeared in three films that have been nominated for an Academy Award: Daens (Best Foreign Language Film), Rundskop (Best Foreign Language Film) and Dood van een Schaduw (Best Live Action Short Film).
Featured on W Magazines portfolio of the Best Performances of 2012, for his performance in De rouille et dos [February 2013].
Played the same character in two different languages (Flemish and English), first in the Belgian film Loft and years later in the American remake The Loft - it was also his first English-speaking role.
After starring together in De rouille et dos , Marion Cotillard recommended him for a role in her boyfriends Guillaume Canet directorial debut in Hollywood: Blood Ties (2013/I) . Canet told that he chose Schoenaerts after hearing Cotillard praising him several times.
Is often compared to Ryan Gosling. During an interview in 2013, Gosling told that Schoenaerts is an incredible actor and that he hopes he get to work with him. Schoenaerts told Vancouver Sun in 2015 that hes interested in doing a project with Gosling, they also have a friend in common, Nico Leunen.
Appeared on the cover of the first issue of French magazine Elle Man. [October 2013].
Filmed four movies in 2013: A Little Chaos , The Drop , Suite Franaise and Far from the Madding Crowd .
Turned down the role of Batman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice . During an interview on the Dutch TV show "24 uur met" in February 2016, Schoenaerts told that he felt he was too young to play Batman in his mid 40s. Schoenaerts was 35 years old when he was offered the role.
Face of Louis Vuitton Menswear Spring/Summer 2014 campaign.
Was in talks to play the male lead in Tulip Fever , but turned it down and was replaced by Dane DeHaan.
Has worked with Michal R. Roskam four times. First in the short film The One Thing to Do , then in the features Rundskop , The Drop and Le Fidle .
Was originally cast as the male lead in Alive Alone (????) but dropped out. Idris Elba replaced him. He gave the script to Noomi Rapace while they were shooting The Drop .
Was offered the lead role in Franois Ozon s Une nouvelle amie , but declined due to scheduling conflicts with Far from the Madding Crowd . Romain Duris was cast instead and was nominated for a Csar award.
Starred in two films that made their world premieres at the 39th Toronto Film Festival in 2014: The Drop and A Little Chaos , the latter was also the festivals closing-night film. [September 2014].
Was cast for the lead role of Belgica , but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts.
Is a fan of "Breaking Bad" , "The Wire" and "The A-Team" .
Was set to star in DArdennen but dropped out and was replaced by Kevin Janssens.
Six of his films have been selected for the Toronto Film Festival in four consecutive years: De rouille et dos in 2012, Blood Ties (2013/I) in 2013, The Drop and A Little Chaos in 2014 and Maryland and The Danish Girl in 2015.
Ranked on TC Candlers annual list of "The 100 Most Handsome Faces From Around the World" for four consecutive years. He was ranked #30 in 2016, #21 in 2015, #9 in 2014 and #42 in 2013.
Initially, he didnt want to accept the role of a Nazi officer in Suite Franaise because he had moral issues with the character, but he changed his mind after reading the book in which the movie is based and he thought: "if the writer loves the character so much, then I have to allow myself to love him as well".
Played the piano when he was a kid, so he had a little basis for his role in Suite Franaise , but he wanted to learn how to play for real in the film. Schoenaerts also learned to speak German for his role as German soldier Bruno von Falk.
In 2008, he starred in the Belgian mini-series "De smaak van De Keyser" , about the Nazi occupation of Belgium. In this mini-series, Schoenaerts plays a Belgian soldier who goes to war and has to leave his girlfriend behind. Years later, he played a German officer who falls in love with a French girl in Suite Franaise , a movie about the Nazi occupation of France. He also appeared in Zwartboek as a member of the Dutch Resistance in World War II.
Was mentioned in a Sony leaked email as a casting option for the role of Vosch in The 5th Wave . He was also mentioned in an untitled super hero film.
Carey Mulligan suggested him for the role of Gabriel Oak in Far from the Madding Crowd after having seen him in De rouille et dos .
Jacques Audiard e-mailed Matthias and convinced him to read the script of Maryland that his friend Alice Winocour had written for him. Audiard directed Matthias in De rouille et dos and the two of them became friends.
Has played a soldier five times: in "De smaak van De Keyser" (a Belgian soldier in World War II), Tunnelrat (an Allied in World War One), Dood van een Schaduw (a Belgian soldier in World War One), Suite Franaise (a German soldier in World War II) and Maryland (a French soldier in Afghanistan).
Was named a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters in France on July 28th, 2015. This distinction is awarded by the French Ministry of Culture to people "who have distinguished themselves by their creativity in the artistic or literary field or the contribution they have made to the influence of the arts and literature in France and in the world".
Starred in four period pieces that were released in 2015: Suite Franaise , A Little Chaos , Far from the Madding Crowd and The Danish Girl .
Had two films in the official competition at the 2015 Venice Film Festival: A Bigger Splash and The Danish Girl .
Two of his films were selected for the 40th Toronto Film Festival in 2015: Maryland and The Danish Girl .
A Bigger Splash marks the first time that he played a Belgian character in a non-Belgian and non-French production. The last time that he had played a Belgian character prior to this film was in De rouille et dos . In the meantime, he played American, British, German, French and Danish characters.
He loves to paint, play soccer, boxing and is also a fan of architecture.
Was considered for the role of Batou, the male lead in Ghost in the Shell .
Shares an agent with former co-stars Marion Cotillard , Kate Winslet and Noomi Rapace : Hylda Queally.
His directorial debut, Franky , is a documentary about a one-legged childhood friend of his who became a MMA fighter, Franky van Hove.
Is the co-owner of Hakuna Casting, a Belgian casting agency which stands for diversity and fights against the under-representation of people of color and foreign origin on the screen and wants to bring diversity into commercials, video-clips and films. The agency has collaborated on the casting of films like Black (2015/III) and Belgica .
Participated on the Zoute Grand Prix in Belgium driving a 1937 BMW 328 Mille Miglia. [October 9, 2015].
Wants to work with directors David Lynch , Darren Aronofsky , Michael Mann , Paul Thomas Anderson , Derek Cianfrance , Gus Van Sant and Fatih Akin.
Is a childhood friend of Belgian soccer player Radja Nainggolan.They played soccer together at youth levels at Beerschot AC.
Was InStyle Magazines Man of Style in December 2015.
Starred in 7 films released in 2015: The Loft , Suite Franaise , A Little Chaos , Far from the Madding Crowd , Maryland , The Danish Girl and A Bigger Splash .
Attended the London premiere of The Danish Girl on his 38th birthday. [December 8, 2015].
Had agreed upon playing the role of criminal anarchist Jules Bonnot in Florent-Emilio Siri s unmade La bande Bonnot, but the project was shelved when distributor Path withdrew from it for budgetary reasons. His co-star would have been actress Brnice Bejo.
Slept only two hours at night while shooting Maryland and ended up in a hospital.
Starred in a 12-minute pilot of a film titled "Theresa Immaculata", directed by Ramn Gieling in 2011. It was about a incestuous relationship between brother and sister in which Sylvia Hoeks (his co-star in De bende van Oss ) played the sister, Theresa, and Schoenaerts played her brother, Thomas. The film was never made but a 7-minute video of the pilot can be found on Youtube.
The New York Times described him as the most versatile beefcake actor of our time in 2012.
Has Aerophobia (fear of flying).
Was approached for the role of Christian Grey in Fifty Shades of Grey . Schoenaerts told that he fell asleep while reading the script and his agent told him to stay out of it.
Has dubbed in French most of his English-language roles.
Shot 8 films between 2012 and 2015: Blood Ties (2013/I) , A Little Chaos , The Drop , Suite Franaise , Far from the Madding Crowd , A Bigger Splash , Maryland and The Danish Girl .
Was the coach of his childhood friend, Carlos Schram, during the last boxing match of his career on May 28, 2016 in Antwerp, Belgium.
Jodie Foster has expressed her desire to work with Schoenaerts during a Q&A at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival.
Spent most of his childhood at a boarding school. Was sent to a boarding school for the first time at 5 years old.
Has played two characters with big scars in their bodies: Bob in Linkeroever and Paul in A Bigger Splash .
Stated that if he could be anything in the world other than what he is, he would be an architect.
Two short films that he starred in were screened at MoMAs exhibition "The Great War: A Cinematic Legacy" in 2014: Tunnelrat and Dood van een Schaduw .
On September 28th, a little after 5PM (local time), a fire broke out in his apartment. Schoenaerts was home at the time and, although the apartment was severely damaged, he was able to get out unharmed. The apartment was declared uninhabitable. One fireman and one resident of the other apartment suffered minor injuries.
I boxed a little when I was a teenager in Belgium, but I was pretty bad.
[on Gabriel Oak] I was fascinated by the absolute selflessness and,sincerity and loyalty of that guy.
[on the healing power of art - 2015 Venice Film Festival] I think,without sounding too knowledgeable, that beauty can save us and art is,a search for beauty on many levels.
[on the Shakespearean role that he would like to play - Irish,Independent, November 2012] I guess Hamlet probably. I fell in love,ever since the first time I read Hamlet, which is almost 20 years ago.
[The Sunday Times, UK - April 2015] My biggest ambition is to live,fully. I really, really wanna get to the depth of life, in the purest,sense of the word.
