Leonie Benesch

Last updated
Leonie Benesch
Leonie Benesch-61400.jpg
Born (1991-04-22) 22 April 1991 (age 33)
Hamburg, Germany
Alma mater Guildhall School of Music and Drama
OccupationActress

Leonie Benesch (born 22 April 1991) [1] is a German actress. She has played roles in various film and TV productions including Babylon Berlin, The Crown, Around the World in 80 Days and The Teachers' Lounge. For her role in the latter, in 2023, she received the award for Best Performance in a Leading Role at the German Film Awards.

Contents

Biography

In 2009, Benesch played the role of Eva in the film The White Ribbon , which won the Golden Palm. Film critics singled out her performance as "a discovery". [2] She received the American "Young Artist Award" for her work, [3] as well as a "New Faces Award". In 2010, she performed in Philip Koch's drama Picco and in Sophie Heldman's film Colors in the Dark  [ de ] (Satte Farben vor Schwarz), where she worked alongside Senta Berger and Bruno Ganz.

In 2017, Benesch performed in Babylon Berlin as Greta Overbeck, winning the "German Acting Prize". Benesch also performed in The Crown as the sister of Prince Philip, Princess Cecilie of Greece and Denmark. In 2020, she was cast in the BBC miniseries Around the World in 80 Days , alongside David Tennant as Phileas Fogg [4] and Ibrahim Koma as Passepartout.

In 2023, she won the German Film Award for her leading role as an idealistic teacher (Carla Nowak) in the German drama The Teachers’ Lounge, cowritten and directed by İlker Çatak, in the category Best Female Leading Role. She was also nominated for the European Film Award, [5] while a year later, the film received an Oscar nomination for Best International Film. [6] Commenting on the success of the film in an interview, Benesch told GoldDerby, "the film was finished for nine months and nobody wanted to buy it. All the distributors said they didn’t see any international potential. It’s too small, it’s too much text, it’s too German. When we had our premiere in Ireland there was a buzz and we got sold out across the globe. It was a complete surprise!" [7]

Personal life

Benesch grew up in Tübingen [8] as the oldest of four children, [9] and attended the Freie Waldorfschule [10] and the Rudolf-Steiner-Schule in Bielefeld-Schildesche  [ de ]. [11] She also attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.

Filmography

Film

YearFilmRoleNotes
2007Beautiful BitchGitti
2009 The White Ribbon Eva
2010 Picco Kevin's Girlfriend
Colors in the Dark Yvonne
2011Was uns zustehtKerstinShort
2012MorgenröteLynnShort
2013BrüderleinTeresa
George Margot HankeTV film
Das Jerusalem-SyndromMaria GärtnerTV film
2014 High Tide Is Dead on Time Mia HalbachTV film
Die Frauen der Wikinger - Odins TöchterJovaTV film
20158 SecondsHelen
2019 Brecht Elisabeth Hauptmann
2020PhoenixJennyShort
Persian Lessons Elsa
Der ÜberläuferHildegard Roth
2023 The Teachers' Lounge Carla Nowak
2024 September 5 [12] Marianne

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
2012 Cologne P.D. Nadia WinkowskiEpisode: "Zeugin in Angst"
Der Kriminalist Clarissa von TannenhofEpisode: "Blaues Blut"
2013 Tatort JuliaEpisode: "Freunde bis in den Tod"
2017 Howards End Frieda Mosenbach1 episode
2017, 2019 The Crown Princess Cecilie 3 episodes
2017–2020 Babylon Berlin Greta OverbeckSeries regular
2018 Counterpart Sofia2 episodes
Morden im Norden Gaby ZinkeEpisode: "Jäger und Sammler"
2019 Holiday Secrets LaraSeries regular
2019 The Master Butcher EvaSeries regular
2020 Spy City Eliza HahnSeries regular
2021 Around the World in 80 Days Abigail "Fix" FortescueMain role
2023 The Swarm Charlie WagnerMain role

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryWorkResultRef.
2010 Young Artist Awards Best Performance in an International Feature Film - Leading Young Performer (with Leonard Proxauf) The White Ribbon Won
New Faces Awards Best ActressWon
2014Günter Strack TV AwardsBest Young Actress Tatort - Episode:Freunde bis in den Tod Nominated
2018German Screen Actors AwardsBest Supporting Actress Babylon Berlin Won
2023 Shooting Stars Awards EFP Shooting Star - ActressesWon
European Film Awards Best Actress The Teachers' Lounge Nominated
German Film Awards Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role The Teachers' Lounge Won

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sigourney Weaver</span> American actress and film producer (born 1949)

Susan Alexandra "Sigourney" Weaver is an American actress and film producer. Prolific in film since the late 1970s, she is known for her portrayals of strong women in science fiction and horror franchises, and for her roles in blockbusters. Weaver is considered to be a pioneer of action heroines in science fiction films. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Grammy Award, in addition to nominations for three Academy Awards, four Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eva Marie Saint</span> American actress (born 1924)

Eva Marie Saint is an American retired actress of film, theatre, radio and television. In a career that spanned nearly 80 years, she won an Academy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award, alongside nominations for a Golden Globe Award and two British Academy Film Awards. Saint is the oldest living and earliest surviving Academy Award-winner, and one of the last living stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Senta Berger</span> Austrian-German actress (born 1941)

Senta Verhoeven is an Austrian-German actress. She received many award nominations for her acting in theatre, film and television; her awards include three Bambi Awards, two Romys, an Adolf Grimme Award, both a Deutscher and a Bayerischer Fernsehpreis, and a Goldene Kamera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eva Green</span> French actress (born 1980)

Eva Gaëlle Green is a French actress. The daughter of actress Marlène Jobert, she began her career in theatre before making her film debut in Bernardo Bertolucci's The Dreamers (2003). She portrayed Sibylla, Queen of Jerusalem in Ridley Scott's historical epic Kingdom of Heaven (2005). The following year, she played Bond girl Vesper Lynd in the James Bond film Casino Royale (2006), for which she received the BAFTA Rising Star Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandra Hüller</span> German actress (born 1978)

Sandra Hüller is a German actress. She has appeared in German, Austrian, American, British, and French films. She has received various accolades, including two European Film Awards, a César Award and three German Film Awards, along with nominations for an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards and a Golden Globe Award.

Georgia Isobel Groome is an English actress. She is best known for her roles in the films London to Brighton (2006) and Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging (2008).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Désirée Nick</span> German television personality

Désirée Gerda Saskia Pamela Amneris Aida Nick is a German reality television personality, actress, dancer, and author.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Petra Schmidt-Schaller</span> German actress

Petra Schmidt-Schaller is a German actress. She is noted for the roles of Helene in Runaway Horse alongside Ulrich Noethen, Ulrich Tukur and Katja Riemann, and Maud Brewster in The Sea Wolf alongside Thomas Kretschmann.

<i>The White Ribbon</i> 2009 film by Michael Haneke

The White Ribbon is a 2009 German-language mystery drama film, written and directed by Michael Haneke. Released in black-and-white, the film offers a dark depiction of society and family in a northern German village just before World War I. According to Haneke, The White Ribbon "is about the roots of evil. Whether it's religious or political terrorism, it's the same thing."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ursula Werner</span> German actress (born 1943)

Ursula Werner is a German actress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Weck</span> Austrian film director and actor

Peter Weck is an Austrian film director and actor. In addition to his about 130 film and television acting credits between 1954 and 2015, he worked as a director on more than 50 productions between 1969 and 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hannelore Schroth</span> German actress

Hannelore Emilie Käte Grete Schroth was a German film, stage, and television actress whose career spanned over five decades.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aylin Tezel</span> German actress and dancer (born 1983)

Aylin Tezel is a German actress, writer and director. She was born in Bünde. Her father is a Turkish-born medical doctor practicing in Bielefeld, Germany, and her mother is a nurse. She is a middle child, having an older sister and a younger brother. She had her breakthrough with a main role in the film Almanya - Welcome to Germany which premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2011 and with the main role in the film Am Himmel der Tag, for which she received the Best Actress Award at the Torino Film Festival in 2012. In 2023 she released her directorial debut Falling Into Place which won the award of the International Federation of Film Critics, known as the FIPRESCI Prize, at the 27th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jannik Schümann</span> German actor

Jannik Schümann is a German actor. He received three Jupiter Awards for Best Actor, for his role of Danny in Close to the Horizon (2020), 9 Days Awake (2021), and the role of Franz Joseph I in Sisi (2022). He is also known for his role in The Aftermath (2019), Center of My World (2016), Die Diplomatin (2016–2023), Monster Hunter (2020), Tribes of Europa (2021), or Charité at War (2019).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eva Noblezada</span> American actress and singer (born 1996)

Eva Maria Noblezada is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her work in theatre, starring in musicals in the West End and on Broadway. Her accolades include a Grammy Award and two Tony Award nominations.

<i>Babylon Berlin</i> German neo-noir television series

Babylon Berlin is a German neo-noir television series. Created, written, and directed by Tom Tykwer, Achim von Borries, and Hendrik Handloegten, it is loosely based on novels by Volker Kutscher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liv Lisa Fries</span> German actress

Liv Lisa Fries is a German actress who has appeared in several films and who gained an international following as the female lead Charlotte Ritter in the German TV series Babylon Berlin, which first premiered in 2017.

<i>Sisi & I</i> 2023 film by Frauke Finsterwalder

Sisi & I is a 2023 historical black comedy film directed by Frauke Finsterwalder, who co-wrote the screenplay with Christian Kracht. It stars Susanne Wolff as Empress Elisabeth of Austria and Sandra Hüller as Countess Irma Sztáray. It tells a fictionalized story of Empress Elisabeth of Austria from the point of view of her lady-in-waiting, Irma Sztáray. The film is an international co-production between Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Sisi & I made its world premiere in the Panorama section of the 2023 Berlin Film Festival on 19 February 2023. It was released theatrically in Austria by Panda Film, and in Germany and Switzerland by DCM on 30 March 2023.

<i>The Teachers Lounge</i> 2023 film by İlker Çatak

The Teachers' Lounge is a 2023 German drama film directed by İlker Çatak, who co-wrote the screenplay with Johannes Duncker. Leonie Benesch stars as a teacher tasked with finding out which of her students is responsible for a series of thefts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helga Charlotte Tolle</span> German actress, singer and dancer

Helga Charlotte Tolle is a German actress, singer and dancer known for her powerful stage presence and incredible versatility.

References

  1. "Film-Talent Leonie Benesch "Ich hatte einfach extrem Angst, dass ich abhebe"". reutlingen.ihk.de. Retrieved 2013-05-15.
  2. "Eine Entdeckung": Filmfestspiele Cannes: Hanekes tödliches Geheimnis in: Die Presse vom 21. Mai 2009
  3. "Wega film vienna | Kino | DAS WEISSE BAND - eine deutsche Kindergeschichte".
  4. "'Around the World in 80 Days' to Restart Production in Romania, South Africa (EXCLUSIVE)". 25 September 2020.
  5. "With The Teachers' Lounge, Leonie Benesch Prepares for Global Stardom on Her Own Terms". Vanity Fair. 2023-12-28. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
  6. Verhoeven, Beatrice (2024-02-16). "'The Teachers' Lounge' Director on His Oscar-Nominated Satire: "Children Can be Angels – But Also Little A**holes"". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
  7. Beachum, Chris (2023-12-08). "Leonie Benesch interview: 'The Teachers' Lounge'". GoldDerby. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
  8. Leonie Benesch Archived 2017-09-09 at the Wayback Machine .
  9. "Leonie Benesch interview: 'The Teachers' Lounge'". goldderby.com. Dec 8, 2023. Retrieved 17 Feb 2024. I'm the oldest of four, I know what it's like to be around kids.
  10. Leonie Benesch: Genau diese Naivität, die Eva hat. In: Die Presse , 19. September 2009
  11. Stefan Biestmann. "Zeitreise in das Amerika der 20er Jahre" (in German). Retrieved 2022-11-18.
  12. Breaking Baz: ‘September 5’ Vividly Recalls Tragedy Of The 1972 Olympics Massacre & Jim McKay’s Haunting Announcement, “They’re All Gone” — Venice Film Festival