by Ellanjé Ferguson
Belgian actor Matthias Schoenaerts, has been making a name for himself for quite sometime now. Making his acting debut at just 15 years old in the Oscar-nominated film Daens, he has starred in full-length films and short features since 1992 – a pretty extensive run and we have a feeling he isn’t stopping anytime soon.
As a child, Schoenaerts grew up playing soccer and boxing (although he claims he wasn’t very good); he also spent some time at film school but was eventually kicked out for his poor attendance. However, after years passed and he continued to grow in the industry, he went back to complete his studies at The Academy of Dramatic Arts in Antwerp, Belgium. In his time has an actor, Schoenaerts has starred in Oscar nominated films, received a number of acting awards including both the FIPRESCI and Magritte Awards.
Though he already has a very extensive filmography and repertoire under his belt, 2014 and 2015 have been quite promising years for Matthias Schoenaerts’ career. Current and upcoming releases starring Schoenaerts include: Far from the Madding Crowd (watch the trailer here), Suite Française, A Bigger Splash, Close Protection, The Danish Girl and The Loft, an American remake of the original Belgian Loft he also starred in – this film is rumoured to be his first fully English-speaking role.
Schoenaerts has also recently grabbed a small screen role to play William Clark on HBO’s upcoming miniseries, Lewis and Clark, executively produced by Tom Hanks, Edward Norton and Brad Pitt – that’s what we call
Quite the stunner already, Schoenaerts is multilingual; his first language being Flemish/Dutch, then French and English. He also appeared on the cover of the first issue of Elle Man (2013) and the face of Louis Vuitton Menswear Spring/Summer (2014) – we are now very aware that acting isn’t the only thing Matthias Schoenaerts can do and we can’t wait to see what else this year brings him.