Louis Hofmann (born 3 June 1997) is a German actor. He first gained attention as the lead in the 2011 German film and won the Bodil Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as a teenage German prisoner of war in the 2015 Danish film Land of Mine. Internationally, he is known for playing Jonas Kahnwald in the 2017 German Netflix series Dark (2017–2020).
Life and career Hofmann was born in the Bensberg district of Bergisch Gladbach and grew up in Cologne. His first experience in front of the camera was for Servicezeit, an evening magazine programme on WDR Fernsehen television network. He appeared in a section of the programme, Die Ausflieger, which tested family recreational activities. After two and a half years at Servicezeit, he decided to become an actor and applied to an acting agency. He was subsequently represented by Agentur Schwarz.
In 2009, Hofmann guest-starred in legal comedy-drama Danni Lowinski and television series The Lost Father. He also appeared in the television film Tod in Istanbul. In 2010, he performed in Wilsberg and Alarm for Cobra 11.
Hofmann's first cinematic leading role was the titular Tom Sawyer in director Hermine Huntgeburth's 2011 German film adaptation of the classic Mark Twain novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Along with Leon Seidel, who played the role of Huck Finn, he sang on the soundtrack of the film in the song, "Barfuß Gehen" ("Going Barefoot"). The sequel to Tom Sawyer, (German: Die Abenteuer des Huck Finn), was released on 20 December 2012 in German cinemas. In 2013, Hofmann played a guest-starring role in an episode of the television series Stolberg. Beginning on 24 October 2013 Hofmann appeared in the comedy The Almost Perfect Man (German: Der fast perfekte Mann).
His role as Wolfgang in the 2015 film Sanctuary (German: Freistatt) directed by Marc Brummund earned him the 2015 Bavarian Film Prize as Best Newcomer Actor and the 2016 German Actors Award (Deutscher Schauspielerpreis) in the newcomer category. His first international role as a German prisoner of war in the Danish-German co-production Land of Mine (Danish: Under sandet) earned him the Best Supporting Actor prize at Denmark's Bodil Awards in 2016. At the 2016 German Film Awards, he received with the Special Prize Jaeger-LeCoultre Homage to German Cinema presented to honour the work of German actors in international films.
In 2016, Hofmann played Phil in Center of My World (German: Die Mitte der Welt), a coming-of-age romantic drama film directed by Jakob M. Erwa, based on the 1998 bestselling novel The Center of the World by Andreas Steinhöfel. He was presented with a European Shooting Stars Award at Berlinale 2017 by the European Film Promotion organisation. Also in 2016, Hofmann was cast as Jonas Kahnwald in Dark, a science fiction thriller released on Netflix on 1 December 2017. His character is one of the leads. A second season was released on 21 June 2019. A third and final season was released on 27 June 2020.
In 2022, Hofmann was cast as Werner Pfennig in the Netflix series adaptation All The Light We Cannot See, based on the 2014 novel. The series is set during World War II and was released on 2 November 2023. In March 2023, Hofmann joined the cast of Apple TV+ production Monstrous Beauty. He also appeared in Apple TV+ series Masters of the Air, produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, which was released on 26 January 2024.
Selected filmography
Film YearTitle Role Notes 2011 Tom Sawyer (de) Tom Sawyer 2012 Die Abenteuer des Huck Finn (de) Tom Sawyer 2013 The Almost Perfect Man Aaron2015 Sanctuary Wolfgang Land of Mine Sebastian Schumann2016 Centre of My World Phil Alone in Berlin Hans Quangel2017 Lommbock Jonathan Oliver 2018 The White Crow Teja Kremke Red Sparrow Bank Manager Down The River Son The New End Dwarf (voice) 2019 David Klaas Jepsen A Piece of Cake Kipp (voice) 2022 Cioma Schönhaus 2023 Seneca – On the Creation of Earthquakes Lucilius 2024 Lilies Not for Me Charles 2026 23,000 Lives Lukas Objet a Adam
Television Year Title Role Notes2010 The Lost Father David Salzbrenner TV film Tod in Istanbul Sascha Kleinert TV film Danni Lowinski Fabian Lüdtke Episode: "Hundeleben" 2012 Wilsberg Max Rensing Episode: "Aus Mangel an Beweisen" 2013 Stolberg Dennis Kessler Episode: "Der verlorene Sohn"2016 You Are Wanted Dalton Recurring role Shades of Guilt Leonhard Tackler Episode: "Das Cello" 2017–2020 Dark Jonas Kahnwald Main role 2022 Life After Life Jürgen 2 episodes 2023 All the Light We Cannot See Werner Pfennig Miniseries; main role2024 Masters of the Air Ulrich Haussmann Miniseries; 1 episode Ripley Max Yoder Miniseries; 1 episode
Radio Year Title NotesRef. 2006–2009 Die Ausflieger
Awards and nominations YearAwardCategoryWorkResultRef.2012 New Faces Award Special Award Tom Sawyer 2014 Bavarian Film Awards Best Young Actor Sanctuary 2015 Tokyo International Film Festival Best Actor Land of Mine 2016Beijing International Film FestivalBest ActorLand of Mine Bodil AwardsBest Actor in a Supporting RoleLand of Mine Deutscher SchauspielerpreisYoung Talent PrizeSanctuary German Film AwardSpecial Award for ActingLand of Mine 2017Askania AwardShooting Star of the YearCenter of My World Berlin International Film FestivalShooting Stars Award— 2018Goldene KameraJunior Actor PrizeDark
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