Tom Schilling (born 10 February 1982) is a German film and television actor.
Life and acting career
Schilling grew up in the formerly East German borough of Berlin Mitte. He was discovered at the age of 12 by stage director Thomas Heise, and cast in the stage play Im Schlagschatten des Mondes (Under the shadow of the Moon) at the Berliner Ensemble theatre company, which he stayed with for the next four years to play in other productions as well. Acting jobs earned him enough money to move out of his parents' home when he was 18 and still at school. He left school with an Abitur certificate.
Schilling's screen acting debut was in 1996, when he appeared in the Sat.1 TV series Hallo, Onkel Doc! at the age of 14. He was later cast in the theatrical film Paradise Mall (1999) where he played alongside Franka Potente, Daniel Brühl and Heiner Lauterbach, but the breakthrough for him came with his performance in Crazy (2000, directed by Hans-Christian Schmid), for which he received the Talented Young Actor Award of the Bayerischer Filmpreis.
In the critically well-received 2004 film Before the Fall (German title: Napola – Elite für den Führer, directed by Dennis Gansel) Schilling appeared alongside Max Riemelt as a young and fragile student at a Nazi elite school (Napola). In 2006, he received a scholarship for the Lee Strasberg Institute in New York, where he studied for a semester.
Schilling was later given the role of the young Adolf Hitler in Urs Odermatt's 2009 film Mein Kampf (the UK DVD release is marketed as Dawn of Evil: Rise of the Reich), co-starring Götz George.
Schilling originally wanted to become a painter and study art after school. In a 2008 interview he said he was not much of an extrovert, and that to him having to deliver oneself up on a day-to-day basis was a major disadvantage of being in the acting profession.
In 2006, Schilling had a son by a woman whose name is not known. In spring 2014 he and his partner, assistant director Annie Mosebach, had a son, followed by a daughter in January 2017. In early 2019, Schilling and Mosebach got married.
Filmography
1996: Hallo, Onkel Doc! (TV series), episode: Manege frei
1996: Für alle Fälle Stefanie (TV series), episode: Rettung des Retters
1998: Der heiße Genuss (short film)
1999: Tatort (TV series), episode: Kinder der Gewalt
1999: Paradise Mall
2000: Crazy
2000: Exit to Heaven
2001: Tatort (TV series), episode: Tot bist Du!
2001: Heart Over Head
2002: Fetisch (short film)
2002: Mehmet (short film)
2002: Schlüsselkinder (short film)
2002: Weil ich gut bin
2002: Weichei (short film)
2003: Play It Loud! (Verschwende deine Jugend)
2004: Agnes and His Brothers (Agnes und seine Brüder)
2004: Egoshooter
2004: Kurz – Der Film
2004: Before the Fall (Napola – Elite für den Führer)
2005: Die letzte Schlacht
2005: Tatort (TV series), episode: Wo ist Max Gravert?
2006: Einfache Leute
2006: Atomised / The Elementary Particles (Elementarteilchen)
2006: Joy Division
2006: Black Sheep
2006: Wigald (short film)
2007: Pornorama
2007: KDD – Kriminaldauerdienst (TV series)
2007: Tour Excess
2007: Why Men Don't Listen and Women Can't Read Maps (Warum Männer nicht zuhören und Frauen schlecht einparken)
2008: Robert Zimmermann Is Tangled Up in Love (Robert Zimmermann wundert sich über die Liebe)
2008: Tatort (TV crime series), episode: Der frühe Abschied
2008: Mordgeständnis
2008: The Baader Meinhof Complex (theatrical film, drama)
2009: Dawn of Evil: Rise of the Reich (Mein Kampf), inspired by a stage play by George Tabori
2009: Bloch (TV series), episode: Tod eines Freundes
2009: Ice Fever (German/Italian TV film based on Ken Follett's novel Whiteout)
2010: Tatort (TV series), episode: Am Ende des Tages
2010: Ich, Ringo und das Tor zur Welt (TV biopic)
2011: Polizeiruf 110 (TV series), episode: Die verlorene Tochter
2011: Tatort (TV series), episode: Auskreuzung
2012: A Coffee in Berlin (theatrical film, comedy/drama)
2012: Ludwig II. (theatrical film, period drama)
2013: Hotel Adlon: A Family Saga (TV mini-series)
2013: The Tragedy of a Simple Man (TV film)
2013: Shark Alarm at Müggel Lake (theatrical film, comedy)
2013: Unsere Mütter, unsere Väter (TV mini-series) Also broadcast on BBC 2(UK) in April/May 2014 as Generation War.
2014: Who Am I – No System is Safe
2014: Posthumous
2014: Suite Francaise
2015: Woman in Gold
2015: Punk Berlin 1982 (Tod den Hippies!! Es lebe der Punk)
2016: Point Blank (TV film)
2016: NSU German History X
2017: The Same Sky (TV Series), 6 episodes on Netflix
2018: Never Look Away
2019: Lara
2019: The Goldfish (Die Goldfische)
2019: Brecht
2021: Fabian – Going to the Dogs
2024: A Million Minutes
2024: Murder Mindfully (Television Series)
2026: Ach, diese Lücke, diese entsetzliche Lücke
Audio plays
2003: Die Meute der Mórrígan (The Hounds of the Morrigan) – role: Pidge
2003: Das Geheimnis der verborgenen Insel (Monster Mission)
2003: Hanni und Nanni und ihre Gäste (based on Enid Blyton's book series St. Clare's) – role: Peter
2008: Jodi Picoult: Neunzehn Minuten (Nineteen Minutes) – role: Peter Houghton (audiobook), publisher: der Hörverlag, ISBN 978-3867172523
2011: Übernacht – role: Jan
2012: Als ich meine Eltern verließ – audiobook recording of the novel by Michel Rostain (orig. French title: Le Fils)
Awards
2000: Bavarian Film Awards, Germany: Young Talented Actor award for his performance in Crazy
2005: Undine Awards, Germany: Best young character actor award (Bester jugendlicher Charakterdarsteller) for his performance in Before the Fall
2005: Undine Awards, Germany: Audience award (Zuschauerpreis) for his performance in Before the Fall
2008: Wiesbaden Fernsehkrimi-Festival: Deutscher Fernsehkrimipreis (German crime fiction TV award) special award for outstanding performance in Tatort – Der frühe Abschied
2012: Oldenburg International Film Festival: Seymour Cassel Award for his performance in A Coffee in Berlin
2013: Bavarian Film Awards, Germany: Best male actor award (Bester Darsteller) for his performance in A Coffee in Berlin
2013: German Film Awards (Goldene Lola): Best male actor in a leading role (for his performance in A Coffee in Berlin)