--- name: "August Diehl" canonical: "https://film.one/person/august-diehl" roles: ["Actor"] born: "4 January 1976" reviewed_on_fi1m: 2 average_fi1m_score: 80 average_as: "actor" average_over: 2 updated: "2026-09-17T09:17:24.919437+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # August Diehl Actor. Born 4 January 1976 in West Berlin, West Germany [now Berlin, Germany]. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 4 January 1976, West Berlin, West Germany [now Berlin, Germany] - **Active:** 2009–present - **SAG Awards:** 1 SAG Award (1 won) - **Average Fi1m score:** 80, as actor, over 2 titles - **Fi1m score by decade:** 2000s 77 (1), 2010s 82 (1) - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_Diehl, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q62557, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0225944/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/6091 ## Coming up - *Fatherland* (2026-06-19), as Klaus Mann — [page](https://film.one/film/fatherland.md) - *Schöne Seelen* (2026-11-26), as Freddy ## Fi1m on August Diehl > August Diehl can make a man’s convictions clear without giving him a speech. We recommend *A Hidden Life* for the firmness and tenderness of his performance, while wishing its script gave him more uncertainty to play. In *A Hidden Life* (2019), August Diehl and Valerie Pachner make farm work feel like part of a marriage. Their ease together gives Franz and Fani Jägerstätter a shared life beyond the farmer’s refusal to compromise his conscience. We were moved by their tenderness, because the prospect of separation hurts more when two people seem so accustomed to one another. Diehl’s physical assurance matters here: he makes the conviction credible without needing to announce it. Terrence Malick gets a performance worth watching through the film’s repetitions. He began with a lead, playing Karl Koch in *23* (1998). International notice came through *The Counterfeiters* (2007) and his Major Dieter Hellstrom in *Inglourious Basterds* (2009). The title role in Raoul Peck’s *The Young Karl Marx* (2017) preceded Malick’s farmer. He has continued to move between leading and supporting parts in German and international productions, with historical drama a recurring home for his work. The reservation in *A Hidden Life* concerns how little uncertainty Diehl is allowed to play. His steadfastness is convincing early on, but Malick keeps returning to it as though another explanation were needed. Editors Joe Gleason, Sebastian Jones and Rehman Nizar Ali let scenes overlap and familiar images recur, and the repeated questioning eventually adds little. We would have welcomed more doubt for Diehl to work with; instead, he is asked to confirm what we already know. The performance remains persuasive, but the writing leaves him too little to discover. Pachner gives him something better to respond to: affection complicated by the cost of sharing someone else’s decision. She makes Fani an equal, and Diehl’s resolve is more affecting because we can see the marriage it puts under strain. James Newton Howard’s music brings warmth to that shared life without doing the actors’ work for them. Begin with *A Hidden Life*; just do not expect Malick to move on when Diehl has made his point. ## Biography August Diehl is a German actor. He was born on 4 January 1976 in Berlin and is the son of actor Hans Diehl. Diehl is known for roles including Major Hellstrom in *Inglourious Basterds* (2009), Franz Jägerstätter in *A Hidden Life* (2019) and Vladimir Lenin in *The King's Man* (2021). He appeared as Klaus Mann in *Fatherland* (2026). He has also featured in films such as *Salt* (2010), *Allied* (2016), *The Counterfeiters* (2007) and *Munich – The Edge of War* (2021). *Sources: imdb.com, en.wikipedia.org, filmportal.de.* ## On Fi1m (2) - *A Hidden Life* (2019), Fi1m 82, as Franz Jägerstätter — [page](https://film.one/film/a-hidden-life.md) - *Inglourious Basterds* (2009), Fi1m 77, as Major Hellstrom — [page](https://film.one/film/inglourious-basterds.md) ## Complete filmography (75) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Schöne Seelen* (2026), as Freddy - *Fatherland* (2026), as Klaus Mann — coming soon, [page](https://film.one/film/fatherland.md) - *The Rays and Shadows* (2026), as Otto Abetz - *The Disappearance of Josef Mengele* (2025), as Josef Mengele - *The Ice Tower* (2025), as Max - *Borowski Und Das Haupt Der Medusa* (2025), as Robert Frost - *Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin* (2024), as Martin Niemoller - *The Master and Margarita* (2024), as Woland - *Sidonie in Japan* (2024), as Antoine Perceval - *The Robber Hotzenplotz* (2022), as Petrosilius Zwackelmann - *The Perfumier* (2022), Acting - *Sauerdogs* (2022), as Hans - *Munich - The Edge of War* (2021), as Franz Sauer - *The King's Man* (2021), as Vladimir Lenin - *Furia* (2021), series, as Jan - *Plan A* (2021), as Max - *The Last Vermeer* (2019), as Alex De Klerks - *Bauhaus: A New Era* (2019), series, as Walter Gropius - *A Hidden Life* (2019), as Franz Jägerstätter — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/a-hidden-life.md) - *The Birdcatcher* (2019), as Herman - *Pagan Peak* (2019), series, as Stefan Polt - *The Emperor of Paris* (2018), as Nathanaël - *Perfume* (2018), series, as Moritz de Vries - *Kursk* (2018), as Anton Markov - *Midnight Confession* (2017), as Kurt - *The Young Karl Marx* (2017), as Karl Marx - *Allied* (2016), as Hobar - *Close to the Enemy* (2016), series, as Dieter Koehler - *Dark Diamond* (2016), as Gabi Ulmann - *Come What May* (2015), as Hans - *Documentary Now!* (2015), series, as Dieter Daimler - *The Disappearing Illusionist* (2015), as Dirk Ohm - *The Husband* (2014), as Karl "Rusty" Rost - *Frau Ella* (2013), as Klaus - *Layla Fourie* (2013), as Eugene Pienaar - *Night Train to Lisbon* (2013), as Young Jorge O'Kelly - *The Adventures of Huck Finn* (2012), as Alter Finn - *Confession of a Child of the Century* (2012), as Desgenais - *Shores of Hope* (2012), as Andreas Hornung - *If Not Us, Who?* (2011), as Bernward Vesper - *The Coming Days* (2010), as Konstantin Richter - *Salt* (2010), as Mike Krause - *Inglourious Basterds* (2009), as Major Hellstrom — Fi1m 77, [page](https://film.one/film/inglourious-basterds.md) - *Buddenbrooks* (2008), as Christian Buddenbrook - *A Woman in Berlin* (2008), as Gerd - *Dr. Alemán* (2008), as Marc - *Mr. Kuka's Advice* (2008), as Lothar - *Head Under Water* (2007), as Martin Wegner - *Lichtblick* (2007), as Perpetrator - *The Counterfeiters* (2007), as Burger - *Nichts als Gespenster* (2006), as Felix - *Hamburg Lectures* (2006), as (voice) - *Slumming* (2006), as Sebastian - *I Am the Other Woman* (2006), as Robert Fabry - *Kabale und Liebe* (2005), as Ferdinand von Walter - *Mouth to Mouth* (2005), as Tiger - *Tide* (2005), as Robert - *The Ninth Day* (2004), as Untersturmführer Gebhardt - *Feuer in der Nacht* (2004), as Lukas Stein - *Love in Thoughts* (2004), as Günther Scheller - *Anatomy 2* (2003), as Benny - *Love the Hard Way* (2003), as Jeff - *The Birch-Tree Meadow* (2003), as Oskar - *Distant Lights* (2003), as Philip - *Haider lebt - 1. April 2021* (2002), as A.M. Kaiser - *Tattoo* (2002), as Marc Schrader - *Shagging* (2001), as Alex - *Kalt ist der Abendhauch* (2000), as Hugo Wimmer (jung) - *Die Braut* (1999), as Fritz von Stein - *23* (1998), as Karl Koch - *Scene of the Crime* (1970), series, as Robert Frost - *Cover*, as Raphael Leblanc - *The Noise of Time*, as Dimitri Shostakovich - *The Boys from Brazil*, series, as Johann-Friedrich Meinhardt - *Control*, Acting ## Gallery - ![August Diehl](https://film.one/media/person/96160/gallery-b2191e7014d1.jpg) August Diehl — Image via TMDB - ![August Diehl](https://film.one/media/person/96160/gallery-8f4227a8444e.jpg) August Diehl — Image via TMDB - ![August Diehl](https://film.one/media/person/96160/gallery-a6b4648618c5.jpg) August Diehl — Image via TMDB - ![On the poster of Bauhaus: A New Era (2019)](https://film.one/media/person/96160/gallery-f56b9c3fb6fe.jpg) On the poster of *Bauhaus: A New Era* (2019) — Image via TMDB - ![August Diehl](https://film.one/media/person/96160/gallery-5b4f6cbbe4e1.jpg) August Diehl — Image via TMDB - ![August Diehl](https://film.one/media/person/96160/gallery-1a5e855426d0.jpg) August Diehl — Image via TMDB - ![August Diehl](https://film.one/media/person/96160/gallery-c5d115710ecd.jpg) August Diehl — Image via TMDB ## Awards ### SAG Awards — 1 won - 2010: Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture (won), for *Inglourious Basterds* ### Berlin International Film Festival — 1 won - 2020: Berliner Bär (won) *From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.* --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/august-diehl