Damian Hardung (German: ; born 7 September 1998) is a German actor known for his starring roles as Daniel Riffert in the German Netflix series How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast) and James Beaufort in the Amazon Prime Video romantic drama Maxton Hall — The World Between Us.
Early life Born on 7 September 1998, Hardung is from the city of Cologne. A keen footballer, he was part of the youth academy at SC Fortuna Köln. At the age of 14, he went to New York on a scholarship for gifted students.
Career Hardung made his acting debut at the age of 12 with a couple of short movies such as Der Magische Umhang and Die Könige der Straße. Further screen appearances followed in Transpapa, Unter Frauen, and Die Holzbaronin. He had his first leading role portraying Thomas in 2013's Clara and the Secret of the Bears.
Between 2015 and 2017, Hardung played Jonas Neumann in all three seasons of the VOX television series Club der roten Bänder. This was followed by a lead role in the 2018 film The Most Beautiful Girl in the World, a modern-day German comedy adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac. He also appeared in the alien-invasion series Spides.
In March 2019, Hardung starred in the RAI television show The Name of the Rose, as Adso, alongside Rupert Everett and John Turturro. His next role was in the German Netflix series How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast), which aired in May, as Daniel Riffert. Hardung reprised the role in the 2022 spin-off series Buba.
Hardung played Winnie Wolf in the 2023 television series Our Miracle Years. That year, he was cast in a lead role in the television adaptation of Mona Kasten's bestselling novel Save Me. Titled Maxton Hall — The World Between Us, the series was broadcast in 2024 on Amazon Prime Video. It was renewed for a second season in May 2024.
In November 2025, the season 2 of the series was released and at the same time, the shoot of season 3 was completed.
Personal life Hardung is currently studying medicine in Cologne. His brother Leon also studied medicine and the pair were among those vaccinating the German public during the COVID-19 pandemic. He has campaigned with Greenpeace against climate change, visiting Antarctica in 2022.
Filmography Film YearNameRoleNotes2010Der magische UmhangTobrenShort film2011Malten2012ChristopherAlexander Hagen (12 years old)Online – Meine Tochter in GefahrLars2013Frank FuhrmannAlfred Brauer (child)Clara and the Secret of the BearsThomas2015FrauenPaul2016Patrick2018The Most Beautiful Girl in the WorldRickChix – Back on StagePaul2019Jonas NeumannAuerhausHoeppnerBubaDaniel Riffert2022War SailorHans2023Stella. A Life.Manfred Kübler2026Corpus DelictiMoritz HollInto the Deep BlueNickPre-productionThe Lüneburg Variation
Television YearNameRoleNotes2015–2017Club der roten BänderJonas Neumann30 episodes2016SOKO StuttgartDavid Engstrom1 episode2019The Name of the RoseAdso of Melk8 episodes2019–2025How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast)Daniel Riffert24 episodes2020Alexander Wassiljew4 episodes2022Junger Peter Klettmann2023Winnie Wolf6 episodes2024Samuel2 episodesBen von Greifenstein8 episodesSofties5 episodesAm Ende der WahrheitMischaTV film2024–presentMaxton Hall — The World Between UsJames Beaufort12 episodes
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Work Result Ref.2016Günter Strack TV AwardBest Young ActorClub der roten Bänder2019Sarajevo Youth Film FestivalActing2024Subtitle Film FestivalActor on the MoveDeutscher FernsehpreisBest ActorMaxton Hall — The World Between Us2025Jupiter AwardBest Actor (TV & Streaming) – National
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