Matthias Schoenaerts, son of the Flemish actor Julien Schoenaerts, was born in Antwerp in 1977. Having played small roles in television series, Matthias made his name in Bullhead in 2011. He then appeared in French productions such as Rust and Bone (2012) and Disorder (2015), then in international films including The Drop (2014), Suite française (2015) and Far from the Madding Crowd (2015).
Matthias Schoenaerts studied at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp and trod the boards for the first time alongside his father, at the age of 8. His first film role came at the age of 15, with a small part as Wannes Scholliers in the film Daens, by his compatriot Stijn Coninx, in which his father played the Bishop of Ghent, Antoine Stillemans.
After a number of roles, first in television series and then in national and international films, it was the 2011 Michaël R. Roskam film that made him famous. Jacques Audiard chose him to play Ali, alongside Marion Cotillard (Stéphanie), one of the main characters in Rust and Bone. He also played Filip in The Loft, the American remake of the 2008 film, also produced by Erik Van Looy. On the advice of Marion Cotillard, Guillaume Canet hired him for Blood Ties, the American remake of the original Liens du Sang, alongside Mila Kunis, James Caan and Clive Owen.
He won a Most Promising Actor César in 2013 for his role in Rust and Bone, becoming the first Belgian actor to win this award. He went from success to success (A Little Chaos in 2014 and Suite française the following year), which confirmed his acting talent and cemented his international reputation. After this success story he plays in Our Souls at Night in 2017, an American romantic drama. Also in 2017 he interprets the lead role in The faithful together with the French actress Adèle Exarchopoulos. In 2018 he shines next to Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence in the American espionage film, Red Sparrow. The Hollywood story does not stop here for Matthias Schoenaerts. He gets the lead role in The Sound of Philadelphia, a film that takes place in the violent world of the mafia. The film is written and recorded by the Frenchman Jérémie Guez.
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