Louis Hofmann biography, height, age, dark, awards, partner 2025

Louis Hofmann biography

Louis Hofmann is a German actor known for his roles in the films Tom Sawyer (2011), Red Sparrow (2018), and the series Dark (2017).

Childhood. First roles

Louis Hofmann was born on June 3, 1997, in the German town of Bensberg, not far from Cologne. At age 9, he first appeared on television. His mother's friend worked on one of the German TV channels and helped get Louis on the evening Servicezeit TV show, where once a month the kid shared his thoughts on theme amusement parks and different types of children's activities under the heading "Die Ausflieger".

This lasted for about two years, and by the age of 11, Louis wanted to become a real actor. On television, he often met movie stars, talked with them, and was charmed by their constant bright smiles. Eventually, the boy convinced his mother to take him to an acting agency.

In 2010, Louis appeared in one of the episodes of the series Danni Lowinski and in the episode of the series Alarm für Cobra 11. At 13, he landed the lead role in the German adaptation of Tom Sawyer, then its sequel The Adventures of Huck Finn, which caught directors' attention.

Louis doesn't have formal theater training. His acting skills are pure talent: he develops his complex characters right in front of the camera.

"I have many ambitions," says Hofmann, and viewers have no reason to doubt it.

After graduating from high school, Hofmann moved to Berlin to get higher education. Despite constant filming and travel, Louis still made time for lectures and exams.

Louis Hofmann in GiiRL Music Video

Acting career

Louis considers his role as Wolfgang in Marc Brummund's film Sanctuary (2015) his first serious, "adult" role, which earned him the Bavarian Film Awards prize: the teenager was recognized as Best Newcomer Actor of the year.

In the story, the stepfather, jealous of Louis's character's relationship with his mother, sends the young man to the Freistatt school for troubled teenagers. But calling this institution a "school" is a stretch: supervisors employ a brutal system of moral and physical punishment. Wolfgang refuses to comply and helps other students realize they don't have to be victims who can be abused without consequence.

It was my first work, where I needed to work out the character's disposition very accurately before shooting. I always tried to make my characters as plausible as possible.

Hofmann got the first role in a foreign film in the same year. The actor played a German prisoner of war in the Danish-German film Land of Mine. Once again, Louis's performance didn't go unnoticed: he received the Bodil Award for Best Supporting Actor at Denmark's top film awards, and also won a special film award back home.

In 2016, Hofmann starred in the film Center of My World, a dramatic film based on the best seller by Andreas Steinhofel. This performance earned the actor, who played a gay teenager, another award: the European Shooting Stars Award at Berlinale 2017.

Louis Hofmann in the film Center of My World

Before 2017, Louis was primarily known in Europe, but after the release of the Netflix series Dark, the whole world started talking about Hofmann. The supernatural thriller, which premiered on Netflix on December 1, 2017, takes place in the small German town of Windeburg. The main characters are four families carrying dark secrets across three generations.

Dark ‒ Trailer (Season 1)

In the series, Louis plays one of the central characters. His character is Jonas Cahnwald, a schoolboy whose father committed suicide. The young man, still reeling from trauma, gets pulled into the mysterious disappearance of a child in the forest, while simultaneously uncovering terrible secrets about his own life and family.

The series was a huge success among viewers from different countries. Many people compared Dark to series like Twin Peaks and Stranger Things. The attention of the critics was particularly attracted by the overall style of the series, the complexity, and the pace of the narrative.

Louis's career took off rapidly: soon he got an important role in the drama series You are Wanted with Matthias Schweighofer, and also appeared in the comedy Lommbock with Moritz Bleibtreu, one of the most popular German actors.

He did not have to wait long for offers from Hollywood. In 2018, Francis Lawrence's thriller Red Sparrow was released, in which the young actor got a small but vivid part. On the set, Louis was lucky to meet the American actors: Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Edgerton, and Jeremy Irons.

In the biographical drama The White Crow (2018) directed by Ralph Fiennes, which tells the story of ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev's life in the West, Louis played Teja Kremke, an 18-year-old dancer from East Berlin who was brought together with the legendary artist by fate. Kremke is believed to have been Nureyev's first lover and the one who convinced him to relocate to Europe.

Louis Hofmann personal life

Very little is known about the personal life of the young actor. His Instagram account mainly contains only working moments: shots from shootings and official events. If the young actor is in a relationship, he's managed to keep it well hidden.

After filming in the movie Center of My World, rumors about the actor's homosexual orientation spread. In particular, he was credited with a relationship with Jannik Schumann, a colleague in this film. However, these rumors were never confirmed or denied.

In March 2020, reports surfaced about Luis having a girlfriend. It is reported that his beloved was Stella Markert, a model and aspiring producer, whom he met back in 2017.

Louis Hofmann now

When Dark's second season dropped on June 21, 2019, Louis's character stepped into the spotlight with significantly more screen time, becoming central to unraveling the show's intricate and haunting time travel mystery.

Louis Hofmann in the second season of the television series Dark

August 2019 saw the release of German film Prélude, starring Louis in a leading role. The story follows piano student David as he navigates the intense emotions of first love. Hofmann described the film as "a mixture of Whiplash and Black Swan." In interviews, the actor revealed that this film helped him understand his calling: playing dramatic, tormented characters crushed by life's circumstances.

That same year brought the drama Deutschstunde, set in postwar Germany. Louis Hofmann takes on one of the lead roles. In 2020, Louis lent his voice to the animated film Die Heinzels.

The actor favors German cinema over Hollywood: "I like what has happened with the cinema in Germany in recent years. We are no longer afraid of doing something "wrong". This can be seen in the film Toni Erdmann: on its example, you can see unique German storytelling. "

"But in general, "Louis admits," I would like to become part of the world cinema and leave a mark in its history."

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Linda Shelton

What a nice guy Louis is! I watched a film about ballet with him, I`m impressed :)

2021-05-14 20:49:49
Ryan Wright

It seems that Louis Hofmann is such a young actor, and there are already quite a few films and series in his piggy bank.

2021-04-25 19:09:52
Terry Peterson

«Dark» is a strong and really dark, mysterious series. I will follow Hofmann`s further work.

2021-04-15 15:01:21
Carrie Martin

I saw the film «Center of My World» with Hofmann. It is important to really talk about such topics.

2021-03-28 10:16:54
Esther Murphy

Of the «new» actors, Louis Hofmann is one of my favorites, although he still has little work

2021-03-14 10:14:20