Niels Schneider (; born 18 June 1987) is a French-Canadian actor. He had his breakthrough role in Xavier Dolan's film I Killed My Mother (2009), and gained international recognition in Dolan's Heartbeats (2010). In 2011, he won the Trophée Chopard Award for Male Revelation of the Year at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2017, he won the César Award for Most Promising Actor for his performance in Dark Inclusion (2016). In 2019, he was named a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters in France. He has been living and working based in Paris for most of his career.
Early life Born in Paris, the second of five boys, he had an older brother and has three younger brothers. Schneider was 9 years old when his family moved to Montreal. He later became a naturalized citizen. He started his acting career doing voice-over jobs. His father, Jean-Paul Schneider, was an actor, and his mother, Isabelle Schneider, was a model. His paternal grandmother was a Russian Jewish immigrant to France, who came with her family as a child when they fled the Russian Revolution in 1920.
He has four brothers, including actors Aliocha, Volodiya, and Vassili Schneider. On 8 September 2003, their eldest brother, actor Vadim Schneider, and co-star Jaclyn Linetsky, both 17 years old, died as a result of a road accident while they were driving to the filming of an episode of 15/Love. Their minivan lost control and collided with oncoming traffic.
Career
Schneider had his breakthrough role in Xavier Dolan's directorial debut film, I Killed My Mother (2009), and gained international recognition in Dolan's second feature film, Heartbeats (2010). In 2011, he won the Trophée Chopard Award for Male Revelation of the Year at the Cannes Film Festival.
In 2017, he won the César Award for Most Promising Actor for his performance in Dark Inclusion (2016).
In 2023, he starred in the television series Of Money and Blood, directed by Xavier Giannoli.
He played General Leclerc in a two-part biopic of Charles de Gaulle, filmed in 2023 and 2024.
Personal life Schneider is an atheist.
Since 2017, Schneider has been in a relationship with actress Virginie Efira, with whom he co-starred in the films An Impossible Love (2018) and Sibyl (2019). Their son, Hiro, was born on 28 August 2023. They live in the 11th arrondissement of Paris.
In 2019, Schneider was named a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters in France.
In June 2024, Schneider signed a petition addressed to French President Emmanuel Macron demanding France to officially recognize the State of Palestine.
Filmography Year Title Role Notes2007 The Taste of Nothingness Ami de Julien 2008Everything Is Fine Sasha 2009I Killed My Mother Éric 2009Taking the Plunge 2 Frère d'Anna 2009Les chroniques de l'autre Louis Short film 2010Snow Hides the Shade of Fig Trees (La neige cache l'ombre des figuiers) Sacha adulte 2010Heartbeats Nicolas 2010Fatal Le baveux en voiture 20102 Frogs in the West (2 Frogs dans l'Ouest) Max 2011Bonne journée Nick Short film 2011 The Howling: Reborn Roland 2011Un autre monde Louis TV film 2011Val d'or Théo TV film 2011Toy Soldier Aubrey Short film 2012L'âge atomique Theo 2012Clash Raphaël TV series 2012Les ravissements Etienne 2012Chaos Thibaut Nominated—Lumière Award for Best Male Revelation 2013Nous irons ensemble Lo Short film 2013You and the Night Matthias 2013Opium Maurice Sachs 2013Odysseus Télémaque TV series 2013Libre et assoupi 2014Quantum Love Hugo 2014Métamorphose Le Désenchanté / Le Monstre 2014Collisions Henri Short film 2014Voice Over (La voz en off) Antoine 2014Gemma Bovery Hervé de Bressigny 2015 The Art Dealer Klaus 2016Dark Inclusion Pier Ulmann César Award for Most Promising ActorNominated—Lumière Award for Best Male Revelation 2016Polina Adrien 2017 Dalida Jean Sobieski 2018 The Black Book Marquis Lusault 2018 An Impossible Love Philippe Arnold 2018 The Most Assassinated Woman in the World Jean 2019 Curiosa Pierre Louÿs 2019 A Brother's Love Alex 2019 Sibyl Gabriel 2019 Back Home Thomas Moreno 2019 Sympathy for the Devil Paul Marchand 2020 Love Affair(s) Maxime 2021 Totems Francis Mareuil TV series 2023 Of Money and Blood Jérôme Attias TV series 2023 Coup de chance Alain 2023 Spirit of Ecstasy AugustinOriginal title: La Vénus d'argent 2026 De Gaulle Philippe Leclerc Two-part epic biographical drama film 2026 The Unknown David Zimmerman / Malia
Decorations Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters (2019)
References
External links
Niels Schneider at The-Numbers.com