Leonie Benesch (German: [ˈleːoni ˈbɛnɛʃ]; born 22 April 1991)[1] is a German actress. She has played roles in various film and TV productions including Babylon Berlin, The Crown, Around the World in 80 Days and The Teachers' Lounge. For her role in the latter, in 2023, she received the award for Best Performance in a Leading Role at the German Film Awards.
Leonie Benesch | |
|---|---|
 Benesch at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival in 2023 | |
| Born | 22 April 1991 Hamburg, Germany |
| Alma mater | Guildhall School of Music and Drama |
| Occupation | Actress |
Biography
editIn 2009, Benesch played the role of Eva in the film The White Ribbon, which won the Golden Palm. Film critics singled out her performance as "a discovery".[2] She received the American "Young Artist Award" for her work,[3] as well as a "New Faces Award". In 2010, she performed in Philip Koch's drama Picco and in Sophie Heldman's film Colors in the Dark (Satte Farben vor Schwarz), where she worked alongside Senta Berger and Bruno Ganz.
In 2017, Benesch performed in Babylon Berlin as Greta Overbeck, winning the "German Acting Prize". Benesch also performed in The Crown as the sister of Prince Philip, Princess Cecilie of Greece and Denmark. In 2020, she was cast in the BBC miniseries Around the World in 80 Days, alongside David Tennant as Phileas Fogg [4] and Ibrahim Koma as Passepartout.
In 2023, she won the German Film Award for her leading role as an idealistic teacher (Carla Nowak) in the German drama The Teachers’ Lounge, cowritten and directed by İlker Çatak, in the category Best Female Leading Role. She was also nominated for the European Film Award,[5] while a year later, the film received an Oscar nomination for Best International Film.[6] Commenting on the success of the film in an interview, Benesch told GoldDerby, "the film was finished for nine months and nobody wanted to buy it. All the distributors said they didn’t see any international potential. It’s too small, it’s too much text, it’s too German. When we had our premiere in Ireland there was a buzz and we got sold out across the globe. It was a complete surprise!" [7]
Personal life
editBenesch grew up in Tübingen[8] as the oldest of four children,[9] and attended the Freie Waldorfschule[10] and the Rudolf-Steiner-Schule in Bielefeld-Schildesche.[11] She also attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Beautiful Bitch | Gitti | |
| 2009 | The White Ribbon | Eva | |
| 2010 | Picco | Kevin's Girlfriend | |
| Colors in the Dark | Yvonne | ||
| 2011 | Was uns zusteht | Kerstin | Short |
| 2012 | Morgenröte | Lynn | Short |
| 2013 | Brüderlein | Teresa | |
| George | Margot Hanke | TV film | |
| Das Jerusalem-Syndrom | Maria Gärtner | TV film | |
| 2014 | High Tide Is Dead on Time | Mia Halbach | TV film |
| Die Frauen der Wikinger - Odins Töchter | Jova | TV film | |
| 2015 | 8 Seconds | Helen | |
| 2019 | Brecht | Elisabeth Hauptmann | |
| 2020 | Phoenix | Jenny | Short |
| Persian Lessons | Elsa | ||
| Der Überläufer | Hildegard Roth | ||
| 2023 | The Teachers' Lounge | Carla Nowak | |
| 2024 | September 5[12] | Marianne |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Cologne P.D. | Nadia Winkowski | Episode: "Zeugin in Angst" |
| Der Kriminalist | Clarissa von Tannenhof | Episode: "Blaues Blut" | |
| 2013 | Tatort | Julia | Episode: "Freunde bis in den Tod" |
| 2017 | Howards End | Frieda Mosenbach | 1 episode |
| 2017, 2019 | The Crown | Princess Cecilie | 3 episodes |
| 2017–2020 | Babylon Berlin | Greta Overbeck | Series regular |
| 2018 | Counterpart | Sofia | 2 episodes |
| Morden im Norden | Gaby Zinke | Episode: "Jäger und Sammler" | |
| 2019 | Holiday Secrets | Lara | Series regular |
| 2019 | The Master Butcher | Eva | Series regular |
| 2020 | Spy City | Eliza Hahn | Series regular |
| 2021 | Around the World in 80 Days | Abigail "Fix" Fortescue | Main role |
| 2023 | The Swarm | Charlie Wagner | Main role |
| 2024 | Vienna Blood | Helena Rieger | 2 episodes |
Awards and nominations
edit| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Young Artist Awards | Best Performance in an International Feature Film - Leading Young Performer (with Leonard Proxauf) | The White Ribbon | Won | |
| New Faces Awards | Best Actress | Won | |||
| 2014 | Günter Strack TV Awards | Best Young Actress | Tatort - Episode:Freunde bis in den Tod | Nominated | |
| 2018 | German Screen Actors Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Babylon Berlin | Won | |
| 2023 | Shooting Stars Awards | EFP Shooting Star - Actresses | — | Won | |
| European Film Awards | Best Actress | The Teachers' Lounge | Nominated | ||
| German Film Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role | The Teachers' Lounge | Won |
References
edit- ^ "Film-Talent Leonie Benesch "Ich hatte einfach extrem Angst, dass ich abhebe"". reutlingen.ihk.de. Retrieved 2013-05-15.
- ^ "Eine Entdeckung": Filmfestspiele Cannes: Hanekes tödliches Geheimnis in: Die Presse vom 21. Mai 2009
- ^ "Wega film vienna | Kino | DAS WEISSE BAND - eine deutsche Kindergeschichte".
- ^ "'Around the World in 80 Days' to Restart Production in Romania, South Africa (EXCLUSIVE)". 25 September 2020.
- ^ "With The Teachers' Lounge, Leonie Benesch Prepares for Global Stardom on Her Own Terms". Vanity Fair. 2023-12-28. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
- ^ Verhoeven, Beatrice (2024-02-16). "'The Teachers' Lounge' Director on His Oscar-Nominated Satire: "Children Can be Angels – But Also Little A**holes"". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
- ^ Beachum, Chris (2023-12-08). "Leonie Benesch interview: 'The Teachers' Lounge'". GoldDerby. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
- ^ Leonie Benesch Archived 2017-09-09 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ "Leonie Benesch interview: 'The Teachers' Lounge'". goldderby.com. Dec 8, 2023. Retrieved 17 Feb 2024.
I'm the oldest of four, I know what it's like to be around kids.
- ^ Leonie Benesch: Genau diese Naivität, die Eva hat. In: Die Presse, 19. September 2009
- ^ Stefan Biestmann. "Zeitreise in das Amerika der 20er Jahre" (in German). Retrieved 2022-11-18.
- ^ Breaking Baz: ‘September 5’ Vividly Recalls Tragedy Of The 1972 Olympics Massacre & Jim McKay’s Haunting Announcement, “They’re All Gone” — Venice Film Festival
External links
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