Matthias Schoenaerts Net Worth

Matthias Schoenaerts's Quotes

• [on Bullhead (2011)] We all get damned in our lives, and there are ripple effects. One thing can determine a life, and it's hard to overcome that if the event is really traumatic. Your life is completely condemned by it.
• [on being a Hollywood man of the moment, with a string of movies on the docket - The New York Times, 2013] It's been exciting, but at some point it drives me nuts. I haven't been here [in Antwerp] a lot this year. Next year I want to do two projects and not more. Four or five a year starts feeling like a grab-the-money-and-run show.
• [re family history] It's complicated. But when I was playing soccer, everything was fine.
• I boxed a little when I was a teenager in Belgium, but I was pretty bad. I got punched a lot. For Rust and Bone (2012), I hit the boxing gym for five months on a daily basis. I just wanted to be believable. Yes, I did break my nose-but that's from something else. A friend kicked me in the face when we were teenagers. Twenty years later, I'm making a documentary about him-which proves that friendship can last forever.
• [on being considered for the lead role in RoboCop (2014)] They [Belgian magazine Focus Knack] blew it out of proportion. In the sense that, they were interested, but to me, it didn't feel like the right thing to do at that specific time. I thought it was too big, I thought I needed something else, to get more confidence, and not jump into this huge budget thing. But yes, they blew it out of proportion, I wasn't really happy with that. It feels disrespectful to José Padilha, who's a great director.

Interesting Facts about Matthias Schoenaerts

1. His name is pronounced "Ma-tee-us Scone-arts.".
2. Grew up bilingual speaking Flemish Dutch and French. He's also fluent in English, which he learned by watching American films.
3. Lives in Antwerp, Belgium.
4. Is a graffiti artist under the pseudonym "Zenith".
5. Has appeared in Belgian, Dutch, French, American, British and Italian films, in which he speaks Dutch, French, English and German.
6. Son of actor Julien Schoenaerts and costume designer/translator/French teacher Dominique Wiche.
7. Was raised both by his mother in Antwerp and his grandmother in Brussels; his mother never married his father, who died in 2006. His mother died in 2016.
8. Has an older half-brother, Bruno Schoenaerts (born 1953), a lawyer. And two deceased half-sisters, Helga Schoenaerts (1961-1982, suicide) and Sarah Schoenaerts (1955-2014, cancer).
9. Uncle of Ellen Schoenaerts.
10. Has a tattoo on his left inner arm, a triangle. This tattoo can be seen in the film A Bigger Splash (2015).
11. Grew up loving and playing soccer, and also painting especially graffiti. Even went to New York City to collaborate briefly with Bronx group known as Tats Cru.
12. Was close to becoming a professional soccer player and was on the books of Antwerp team Beerschot AC, but gave up when he was 16. He appears in the documentary De Pleintjes (2014) playing soccer with kids in the same place in Antwerpen-Zuid where he used to play when he was a kid.
13. Is a fan of Belgian football club FCO Beerschot Wilrijk and of Spanish club FC Barcelona.
14. Spent a year in film school but was kicked out for poor attendance.
15. Was director Jan Verheyen's first choice to play Dieter in Alias (2002), but Schoenaerts' drama school refused to give him time off to star in the movie, so the part went to second choice Geert Hunaerts.
16. 2003: Named as one of European films' Shooting Stars by European Film Promotion.
17. Graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in Antwerp in 2003.
18. Appeared in two films with his father, Julien Schoenaerts: Daens (1992) and Ellektra (2004), the latter is the only film in which they shared scenes together.
19. Starred in two films directed by Dorothée Van Den Berghe: Meisje (2002) and My Queen Karo (2009).
20. His father Julien Schoenaerts was named "the Marlon Brando of Flanders". Since he starred in Bullhead (2011) and Rust and Bone (2012), Matthias has been called "the Belgian Brando".