Trivia

Studied at the School of Television and Film in Munich, where he broke the student record for the number of short film awards won at festivals. Upon finishing all of his course work in 2001, he decided to make a feature film instead of another short as a graduation movie. The result - five years later-was The Lives of Others (2006).

Trainee of Sir Richard Attenborough in 1997.

Speaks German, English, Italian, French and Russian fluently.

Graduated from Oxford University with a degree in philosophy.

To prepare The Lives of Others (2006), he spent some weeks at the Heiligenkreuz Abbey in Austria, which is led by his uncle.

Son of Maria Lazarus Leo-Ferdinand Romwolt Wilhelm Edwin Gerhard Stefan Graf Henckel Von Donnersmarck (b. Beuthen, 26 Dec 1935), a manager of Lufthansa, and his wife Anna Maria Von Berg (b. Magdeburg, 5 Mar 1940). They married in Cologne on 31 May 1968 (religious marriage on 3 Jun 1968).

Has an uncle, Ulrich Maria Karl Graf Henckel von Donnersmarck (b. Breslau, 16 Jan 1943, unmarried), a Cistercian abbot.

Lived in New York, Berlin, Frankfurt and Brussels during his childhood.

After studying in St. Petersburg, Russia for two years, he taught Russian for a while.

Moved to Los Angeles, CA (2007).

Holds German and Austrian citizenship.

Has three children with his wife Christiane: Lara Cosima (born in 2003), Leo Sylvester (born in 2005), and Alexis Jaguar (born in 2007).

One of 115 invitees to join AMPAS in 2007.

Member of the 'Official Competition' jury at 6th Beijing International Film Festival in 2016.

Younger brother of Sebastian Henckel-Donnersmarck.