Max Riemelt
German actor (born 1984)
title: "Max Riemelt" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1984-births", "living-people", "male-actors-from-berlin", "german-male-television-actors", "german-male-film-actors", "20th-century-german-male-actors", "21st-century-german-male-actors", "actors-from-east-berlin"] description: "German actor (born 1984)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Riemelt" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary German actor (born 1984) ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Max Riemelt |
| image | MJK34510 Max Riemelt (Berlin Syndrome, Berlinale 2017) crop.jpg |
| caption | Riemelt in 2017 |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | East Berlin, East Germany |
| occupation | Actor |
| years_active | 1997–present |
| website | |
| :: |
| name = Max Riemelt | image = MJK34510 Max Riemelt (Berlin Syndrome, Berlinale 2017) crop.jpg | alt = | caption = Riemelt in 2017 | birth_date = | birth_place = East Berlin, East Germany | occupation = Actor | years_active = 1997–present | children = | website =
Max Riemelt (born 7 January 1984) is a German actor. He is known internationally for playing Wolfgang Bogdanow in the Netflix series Sense8. In Germany, he is known for his many appearances on television and in films, including Before the Fall, Free Fall and the 2023 series Bonn. He has appeared in many productions directed by Dennis Gansel and Dominik Graf.
Early life and education
Max Riemelt was born on 7 January 1984 in Mitte, East Berlin, which was in East Germany until he was six years old, and grew up in Berlin, Germany.
Career
Riemelt's career began in Germany in 1997 at the age of 13, in the TV productions Eine Familie zum Küssen and Praxis Bülowbogen. The following year Riemelt played his first leading role in the ZDF Christmas series Zwei allein, directed by Matthias Steurer. He also had a cameo appearance in the video for the title song "Two of a Kind" by the Hamburg duo "R & B".
He starred in all of Dennis Gansel's feature films from Mädchen, Mädchen (2004) until The Fourth State (2012). In 2004 gained wide attention in Germany for his role in Gansel's World War II drama Before the Fall.
He starred in Dominik Graf's 2010 TV crime series In the Face of Crime (Im Angesicht des Verbrechens), and has collaborated numerous times with Graf as well as Dennis Gansel.
In 2013, he starred in the romance Free Fall, with Hanno Koffler, where he plays Kay, a police officer in training. The film depicts a gay love story and has been compared to Brokeback Mountain.
From 2015 to 2018, he starred in The Wachowskis' Netflix series Sense8, playing Wolfgang Bogdanow, a German safe cracker. The first season received positive reviews from critics.
He starred in the 2017 psychological thriller Berlin Syndrome alongside Australian actress Teresa Palmer, which premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.
In 2020, he joined the cast of The Matrix Resurrections.
In 2023 he played a leading role Bonn – Alte Freunde, neue Feinde, a political drama set in post-war West Germany in 1954.
Personal life
Riemelt completed his school career with a high school diploma and refused military service. Riemelt is the father of a daughter and lives in Berlin.
Awards
- 2004: Best Actor, Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, for Before the Fall
- 2006: Best Newcomer Actor, Bavarian Film Awards, for **
- 2006: Best Performance by an Actor in the Marrakech International Film Festival Awards, for his role in The Red Cockatoo
Filmography
Film
::data[format=table]
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Lottoschein ins Glück | Björn Michels |
| 2004 | Mädchen, Mädchen 2 – Loft oder Liebe | Flin |
| Before the Fall | Friedrich Weimer | |
| 2005 | Hallesche Kometen | Ingo |
| Nachtasyl | Aljoscha | |
| 2006 | ** | Siggi |
| ** | Carl-Friedrich von Krempin | |
| 2007 | ** | Edgar |
| ** | Gefreiter Kerner | |
| ** | Charly | |
| 2008 | Up! Up! To the Sky | Arnold |
| The Wave | Marco | |
| ** | Andreas Neidrig | |
| Tausend Ozeane | Meikel | |
| 2009 | 13 Semester | Momo |
| 2010 | We Are the Night | Tom |
| 2011 | ** | Lars |
| ** | Thomas Hafner | |
| Urban Explorer | Kris | |
| Playoff | Thomas | |
| 2012 | The Fourth State | Dima |
| ** | Daniel Gerber | |
| Heiter bis Wolkig | Tim | |
| The German Friend | Friedrich Burg | |
| ** | Marcus | |
| 2013 | Free Fall | Kay Engel |
| Blutgeld | Ralf Seifert | |
| Der zweite Mann | Adrian Davids | |
| 2014 | ** | Bernd Rosemeyer |
| Warsaw 44 | Johann Krauss | |
| ** | Jonas | |
| 2015 | Lichtgestalten | |
| Sanctuary | Bruder Krapp | |
| Amnesia | Jo Gellert | |
| Storno: Todsicher versichert | Rupert Halmer | |
| 2017 | Berlin Syndrome | Andi |
| 2018 | Head Burst | Markus |
| 2021 | The Matrix Resurrections | Shepherd |
| 2024 | ** | Robert |
| 2025 | The Tasters | Albert Ziegler |
| :: |
Television
::data[format=table]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Zwei allein | Max | |
| 2002 | Alphateam – Die Lebensretter im OP | Timo | 1 episode |
| 2003 | Wolffs Revier | Harald Bernhard | 1 episode |
| Alarm for Cobra 11 – The Highway Police | Marcel Freese | 1 episode | |
| In aller Freundschaft | Mirco Venske | 1 episode | |
| 2004 | Sextasy | Short film | |
| Balko | Ingo Grabowski | 1 episode | |
| Neuland | Short film | ||
| 2005 | Feinde | Deutscher Soldat | Short film |
| Videotagebuch von Dennis Gansel | Friedrich Weiemer / Himself | Short video | |
| 2006 | Der Kriminalist | Michael Büssig | 1 episode |
| 2008 | Die Zigarrenkiste | Tjark Evers | Short film |
| Die Schattenboxer | Boxer | Short film | |
| 2010 | Sehsüchte: Underworld | Young Man | Short film |
| Im Angesicht des Verbrechens | Marek Gorsky | 10 episodes | |
| 2011 | Der Staatsanwalt | Markus Pohl | 1 episode |
| 2013 | The Last Cop | Dennis Paschmann | 1 episode |
| 2015–2018 | Sense8 | Wolfgang Bogdanow | Main character |
| 2019 | Die Freundin meiner Mutter | Jan | TV film |
| Der Schneegänger | Lutz Gehring | TV film | |
| World on Fire | Schmidt | Miniseries | |
| 2023 | Bonn | Wolfgang Berns | Miniseries |
| :: |
References
References
- (3 July 2023). "Biography".
- Meza, Ed. (11 May 2016). "'Sense8' Star Max Riemelt Poised for Global Fame". Variety.
- Ashraf, Toby. (4 March 2014). "Why Sexy Gay Love Story 'Free Fall' Is Not Just a German 'Brokeback Mountain'". Indie Wire.
- Stolworthy, Jacob. (4 May 2017). "Sense8 season 2 actor Max Riemelt: 'The sex scenes are less pornographic, more like oil paintings'". The Independent.
- Radish, Christina. (5 May 2017). "'Sense8': Max Riemelt and Tina Desai on Season 2 and Their Characters' Dynamic". Collider.
- Wixson, Heather. (24 January 2017). "Sundance 2017 Interview: Teresa Palmer & Max Riemelt Talk Berlin Syndrome". Daily Dead.
- "Berlin Syndrome Reviews". [[CBS Interactive]].
- Wiseman, Andreas. (17 August 2021). "Leonine Picks Up Distribution Rights To Odeon Fiction Spy Series ‘Bonn’".
- (23 March 2022). "High-end historical series Bonn now in post-production".
- "Karlovy Vary International Film Festival – Festival Photos". kviff.com.
- Blaney, Martin. (14 January 2006). "Debut director is feted at the Bavarian Film Awards".
- (5 October 2022). "6th EDITION 2006".
- Tartaglione-Vialatte, Nancy. (2 March 2025). "The Red Cockatoo takes top prize at Marrakech".
- "Die Freundin meiner Mutter – FilmMittwoch im Ersten – ARD | Das Erste".
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::