--- name: "Ulrich Matthes" canonical: "https://film.one/person/ulrich-matthes" fi1m_id: "ulrich-matthes" imdb_id: "nm0559890" tmdb_id: 8796 wikidata_id: "Q63641" roles: ["Actor"] born: "9 May 1959" reviewed_on_fi1m: 2 average_fi1m_score: 82 average_as: "actor" average_over: 2 updated: "2026-09-17T09:11:36.224078+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." --- # Ulrich Matthes ## Identity Ulrich Matthes - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/ulrich-matthes - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** ulrich-matthes - **IMDb ID:** nm0559890 - **TMDB ID:** 8796 - **Wikidata ID:** Q63641 - **Same entity:** https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q63641, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0559890/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/8796 Actor. Born 9 May 1959 in West Berlin, West Germany. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 9 May 1959, West Berlin, West Germany - **Active:** 2004–2019 - **Also known as:** Uli Matthes, Ulli Matthes - **Average Fi1m score:** 82, as actor, over 2 titles - **Fi1m score by decade:** 2000s 81 (1), 2010s 82 (1) - **Elsewhere:** https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q63641, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0559890/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/8796 ## Coming up - *Athos 2643* (2027-09-16), as Barthel ## Streaming the US now - **Tubi:** [*Downfall*](https://film.one/film/downfall.md) (81) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Ulrich Matthes > Ulrich Matthes brings a gaunt, concentrated presence to historical drama without reducing its characters to collections of mannerisms. We rate his seriousness in *Downfall*, though the recurring wartime roles risk making a thoughtful actor's casting too predictable. In *Downfall* (2004), Ulrich Matthes gives us a reason to look beyond Bruno Ganz. His gaunt appearance and intense focus make Joseph Goebbels a figure worth studying, rather than simply recognising. We were unsettled by this company, with Matthes and Corinna Harfouch's Magda Goebbels giving weight to the different responses to defeat. Oliver Hirschbiegel gets a supporting performance that holds our attention even in such a crowded film. The limitation comes from Bernd Eichinger's screenplay, which follows so many people that sustaining that attention becomes difficult. The path to that role was less confined to historical drama than the later casting might suggest. After establishing himself in theatre, Matthes became more visible in films through *Wintersleepers* (1997), playing the amnesiac projectionist René, and *Feuerreiter* (1998), as Baron Isaac von Sinclair. The turn came in 2004, when *Downfall* and *The Ninth Day* brought wider notice. In the latter he played Abbé Henri Kremer, a Dachau priest. That pairing matters: his severe presence could serve characters on opposite sides of persecution. His later appearance as Lorenz Schwaninger in Terrence Malick's *A Hidden Life* (2019) continues the historical work. We recommend it warmly, but would not make Matthes the reason. August Diehl and Valerie Pachner carry the account of a farmer's resistance through the marriage it endangers. Malick's attention to that marriage makes the film deeply affecting, though he repeats a point we have already understood. It is a strong film in which to encounter Matthes, but *Downfall* gives us more to consider about his acting. He has continued theatre alongside selective film and television appearances, while *Munich – The Edge of War* (2021) keeps the historical association close. The risk is typecasting: another wartime setting can make his presence seem predictable before he has done anything. The contrast between Goebbels and the priest in *The Ninth Day* argues against treating his severity as a shortcut to villainy. We would welcome that concentration in a setting without a war. ## Biography Ulrich Matthes is a German actor born on 9 May 1959 in West Berlin. He is best known for his portrayal of Joseph Goebbels in the 2004 film *Downfall*. Matthes initially studied German and English before training as an actor in Berlin under Else Bongers in the early 1980s. His theatre work has included the Düsseldorf Schauspielhaus, the Bavarian State Theatre and, since the 2004/2005 season, the ensemble of the Deutsches Theater in Berlin. Film roles include *The Ninth Day* (2004), *Aimée & Jaguar* (1999), *A Hidden Life* (2019) and *Munich - The Edge of War* (2021). He has also worked extensively as a voice actor. Awards include the Bavarian Film Award and recognition as Actor of the Year by Theater heute magazine. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, filmportal.de.* ## On Fi1m (2) - *A Hidden Life* (2019), Fi1m 82, as Lorenz Schwaninger — [page](https://film.one/film/a-hidden-life.md) - *Downfall* (2004), Fi1m 81, as Joseph Goebbels — [page](https://film.one/film/downfall.md) ## Complete filmography (68) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Athos 2643* (2027), as Barthel - *Visitation* (2026), Actor - *Echo of Tomorrow's War* (2026), as Stuber - *23 000 Lives* (2026), as Mr. Gans - *Milk Teeth* (2024), as Pesolt - *Kunduz* (2024), as Grewe - *Winterwalzer* (2023), as Albert Gottwald - *2 Friends* (2023), as Malte Klingsor - *Jupiter* (2023), as Guru - *Till* (2022), Actor - *Munich - The Edge of War* (2021), as Adolf Hitler - *O, Collecting Eggs Despite the Times* (2021), as Schönwetter (voice) - *Borrowed White* (2021), as Roland - *Freunde* (2021), as Malte Klingsor - *The Story of My Wife* (2021), as Psychiatrist - *Playing God* (2020), as Bischof Thiel - *Der Menschenfeind* (2020), as Alceste - *Troubled Times* (2019), Actor - *A Hidden Life* (2019), as Lorenz Schwaninger — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/a-hidden-life.md) - *Jupiter* (2019), Actor - *Das Boot* (2018), series, as Wilhelm Hoffmann - *Die Puppenspieler* (2017), series, as Kardinal Borgia - *Fremder Feind* (2017), as Arnold - *Narration* (2017), Actor - *Gift* (2017), as Matteo Kälin - *Geschichte einer Liebe – Freya* (2017), as Helmuth James von Moltke - *Die vierte Gewalt* (2016), as Verleger Winter - *The Missing Woman* (2016), as Bruno - *Exiled* (2016), as Ulrihs - *Kinder der Sonne* (2015), as Pawel Fjodorowitsch Protassow - *Open the Wall* (2014), as Hartmut Kummer - *The Notebook* (2013), as Vater - *Calm at Sea* (2012), as Ernst Jünger - *Cracks in the Shell* (2012), as Ben Kästner - *Faust Sonnengesang* (2011), as (voice) - *About Jenny Holzer* (2011), as Narrator - *Neue Vahr Süd* (2010), as Hauptmann und Kompaniechef - *Hidden Cities* (2010), Actor - *November Child* (2008), as Robert - *Geheimes Deutschland* (2006), as (voice) - *Vineta* (2006), as Dr. Leonhard - *Who was Kafka?* (2006), as Narrator (voice) - *The Ninth Day* (2004), as Abbé Henri Kremer - *Downfall* (2004), as Joseph Goebbels — Fi1m 81, [page](https://film.one/film/downfall.md) - *Traffic Affairs* (2004), as Peter - *Mörderherz* (2002), as Dr. Graf - *SOKO Leipzig* (2001), series, as Victor Hauptmann - *Der Hahn ist tot* (2000), as Kommissar Steiner - *Framed* (1999), as Beck - *Aimée & Jaguar* (1999), as Eckert (SS) - *Abgehauen* (1998), as Eberhard Esche - *Rider of the Flames* (1998), as Isaac von Sinclair - *Winter Sleepers* (1997), as René - *Dead Pool* (1997), series, as Jan-Carl Raspe - *Nikolaikirche* (1995), as Alexander Bacher - *Der Mörder und sein Kind* (1995), as Rainer Dreyer - *Wolffs Revier* (1992), series, as Danzer - *Herr Ober!* (1992), as TV showmaster - *Professor Bernhardi* (1987), as Dr. Oskar Bernhardi - *A Case For Two* (1981), series, as Michael Strobel - *The Old Fox* (1977), series, as Andreas Gobel - *Derrick* (1974), series, as Ulrich Huberti, Holger Küster, Robert Lohmann, Harald Breuer - *Artur, Peter und der Eskimo* (1973), as Peter - *Polizeiruf 110* (1971), series, as Psychologist, Tanjas Partner - *Besuch der Tochter* (1971), as Thomas - *Scene of the Crime* (1970), series, as Günther Kremer, Richard Harloff - *An einem Tag im September* (1969), as Max - *Im Herzen der Gewalt*, Actor --- © 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/ulrich-matthes