Thomas Schubert | |
|---|---|
 Schubert at the 2025 Austrian Film Awards | |
| Born | August 15, 1993 Vienna, Austria |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2011–present |
Thomas Schubert (born 15 August 1993 [1] ) is an Austrian actor. He attained notoriety through his acting in the Austrian feature film Breathing (2011).
The son of a dental technician and a teacher, Schubert was born in Vienna, Austria, where he grew up with two siblings. He spent a year in Australia with his family. He attended gymnasium in the Vienna district of Donaustadt, but dropped out in his final year to pursue a career in acting. [2] [3]
Schubert came to acting by chance when, as a 17-year-old student, he accompanied a friend to the open casting for Karl Markovics's 2011 feature film Breathing (German: 'Atmen'), which had been advertised at various schools. [4] In his amateur acting debut, Schubert plays the role of a young prisoner who, while on day release, takes a job at a Viennese funeral home. Markovics had insisted on hiring an amateur actor for the leading role, which determined the casting of all the other actors. "I was looking for a non-professional actor because I didn't want a 22-year-old drama school graduate playing an 18-year-old; I really wanted an 18-year-old who is still a child in some moments," said Markovics. [4]
![Schubert with fellow actress Karin Lischka [de] at the Vienna premier of Breathing (2011) Atmen Premiere Wien 2011 i Karin Lischka, Thomas Schubert.jpg](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/69/Atmen_Premiere_Wien_2011_i_Karin_Lischka%2C_Thomas_Schubert.jpg/250px-Atmen_Premiere_Wien_2011_i_Karin_Lischka%2C_Thomas_Schubert.jpg)
Schubert was selected from approximately 300 candidates during three casting sessions. [4] Director Karl Markovics placed great importance on his leading actor remaining authentic, so he only gave Schubert basic breathing and facial expression training. [5] According to Schubert, the greatest challenge in assuming this role was maintaining concentration during long rehearsals. [2]
Breathing premiered at the 64th Cannes Film Festival in 2011 in parallel to the Directors' Fortnight, where the film was awarded the Europa Award. Described as a "taciturn, documentary-like social drama", [6] the film was critically acclaimed, screened at more than 60 film festivals, and was selected as Austria's candidate for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film in 2012. Schubert also received praise, receiving the Best Actor Award at the Sarajevo Film Festival and the Austrian Film Award for his acting debut. The Austrian daily newspaper Kurier praised his talent for his sensitive and reserved performance as the introverted juvenile convict Roman Kogler. [2] According to a review by German magazine Filmdienst , the inner drama plays out on the face of the "superb amateur actor". [6] Additionally, Munich-based newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung praised Schubert's facial expressions in the film. [7]
Schubert described the success of Breathing as a "major turning point in his life", [2] crediting his feature film debut for scoring him an appearance on the Austrian TV series Fast Forward in October 2011. [5] He had further roles in the ORF miniseries Pregau , the TV film Das Sacher , and the crime-drama series SOKO Donau . Schubert soon reached a larger audience with a role on the Netflix original series King of Stonks, which was released mid-2022; in the series, he played the main character Felix Armand. For his portrayal of Leon in Christian Petzold's Afire (2023), he was nominated for Best Actor at the 36th European Film Awards. [8] In May 2024, Schubert became a member of the European Film Academy. [9]
