Tilman Valentin "Til" Schweiger is a German actor, director, and producer. He is one of
Germany's most successful filmmakers. Since 1968, when the FFA started counting, no other
German actor has drawn more people to the cinemas. He runs his own production company,
Barefoot Films, in Berlin.
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 and graduated in 1989.
Career Schweiger's debut as a producer and director
came in 1997 with Knockin' on Heaven's Door. The film remains a cult favourite for audiences
worldwide. He also directed and produced Der Eisbär in 1998. Schweiger won a prestigious
Bambi Award for Barfuß in 2005, which he wrote, directed, and starred in. He also won
a Bambi for his lead role in Traumschiff Surprise – Periode 1. In 2007, Keinohrhasen, written,
produced, and directed by Schweiger, became the most successful film in German theaters
with a box office result of USD 62,000,000. 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, was released the following year and was also a huge success
with over 4.2 million viewers and a box office 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 with his daughter Luna
named Schutzengel. Til plays Max a former KSK who works at witness protection. He then
met Nina who saw her boyfriend being murdered. During this Film you see the scars Max suffered
during his time in war, mostly Afghanistan. Til Schweiger dedicated this movie to all
German soldiers past and present who were in Afghanistan, and named one soldier in particular.
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, Männerpension, Das Mädchen Rosemarie, Bastard, Bang Boom
Bang, Der große Bagarozy, Was tun, wenn's brennt, Les Daltons vs. Lucky Luke, The Red
Baron, Wo ist Fred, Phantomschmerz, Männerherzen, and others.
Schweiger has also appeared in a wide range of American films, including Already Dead,
King Arthur, In Enemy Hands, Magicians, Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, Driven, SLC Punk!,
Investigating Sex, Joe and Max, The Replacement Killers and New Year's Eve. His latest big
screen appearance was as Hugo Stiglitz in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds.
Schweiger then appeared in the US productions The Courier with Mickey Rourke, This Means
War, with Chris Pine and Reese Witherspoon and more recently in 2013 as Darko in The
Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman with Shia LaBeouf among others. He also made an
appearance in 2014's Muppets Most Wanted. Personal life
Schweiger married American model Dana Carlson on 19 June 1995. The couple has four children:
Valentin Florian Schweiger, Luna Marie Schweiger, Lilli Camille Schweiger, and Emma Tiger Schweiger.
Schweiger and Carlson separated in 2005, but have not divorced.
Schweiger was in a relationship with model Svenja Holtmann from 2010 to October 2013.
Filmography Film
Television References
External links Til Schweiger at the Internet Movie Database
Photographs and bibliography