#Fact1Stated that if he could be anything in the world other than what he is, he would be an architect.2Has played two characters with big scars in their bodies: Bob in Linkeroever (2008) and Paul in A Bigger Splash (2015).3Spent most of his childhood at a boarding school. Was sent to a boarding school for the first time at 5 years old.4Jodie Foster has expressed her desire to work with Schoenaerts during an interview at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival.5Was the coach of his childhood friend, Carlos Schram, during the last boxing match of his career on May 28, 2016 in Antwerp, Belgium.6Shot 8 films between 2012 and 2015: Blood Ties (2013), A Little Chaos (2014), The Drop (2014), Suite Française (2014), Far from the Madding Crowd (2015), A Bigger Splash (2015), Maryland (2015) and The Danish Girl (2015).7Has dubbed in French most of his English-language roles.8Was approached for the role of Christian Grey in Fifty Shades of Grey (2015). Schoenaerts told that he fell asleep while reading the script and his agent told him to stay out of it.9Has Aerophobia (fear of flying).10The New York Times described him as 'the most versatile beefcake actor of our time' in 2012.11Starred in a 12-minute pilot of a film titled "Theresa Immaculata", directed by Ramón Gieling in 2011. It was about a incestuous relationship between brother and sister in which Sylvia Hoeks (his co-star in De Bende van Oss (2011)) played the sister, Theresa, and Schoenaerts played her brother, Thomas. The film was never made but a 7-minute video of the pilot can be found on Youtube.12Slept only two hours at night while shooting Maryland (2015) and ended up in a hospital.13Had agreed upon playing the role of criminal anarchist Jules Bonnot in Florent-Emilio Siri's unmade 'La bande à Bonnot', but the project was shelved when distributor Pathé withdrew from it for budgetary reasons. His co-star would have been actress Bérénice Bejo.14Attended the London premiere of The Danish Girl (2015) on his 38th birthday. [December 8, 2015].15Starred in 7 films released in 2015: The Loft (2014), Suite Française (2014), A Little Chaos (2014), Far from the Madding Crowd (2015), Maryland (2015), The Danish Girl (2015) and A Bigger Splash (2015).16Was InStyle Magazine's 'Man of Style' in December 2015.17Is a childhood friend of Belgian soccer player Radja Nainggolan.They played soccer together at youth levels at Beerschot AC.18Wants to work with directors David Lynch, Darren Aronofsky, Michael Mann, Paul Thomas Anderson, Derek Cianfrance, Gus Van Sant and Fatih Akin.19Participated on the Zoute Grand Prix in Belgium driving a 1937 BMW 328 Mille Miglia. [October 9, 2015].20Is the co-owner of Hakuna Casting, a Belgian casting agency which stands for diversity and fights against the under-representation of people of color and foreign origin on the screen and wants to bring diversity into commercials, video-clips and films. The agency has collaborated on the casting of films like Black (2015) and Belgica (2016).21His directorial debut, Franky, is a documentary about a one-legged childhood friend of his who became a MMA fighter, Franky van Hove.22Shares an agent with former co-stars Marion Cotillard, Kate Winslet and Noomi Rapace: Hylda Queally.23Was considered for the role of Batou, the male lead in Ghost in the Shell (2017).24He loves to paint, play soccer, boxing and is also a fan of architecture.25A Bigger Splash (2015) marks the first time that he played a Belgian character in a non-Belgian and non-French production. The last time that he had played a Belgian character prior to this film was in Rust and Bone (2012). In the meantime, he played American, British, German, French and Danish characters.26Two of his films were selected for the 40th Toronto Film Festival in 2015: Maryland (2015) and The Danish Girl (2015).27Had two films in the official competition at the 2015 Venice Film Festival: A Bigger Splash (2015) and The Danish Girl (2015).28Starred in four period pieces that were released in 2015: Suite Française (2014), A Little Chaos (2014), Far from the Madding Crowd (2015) and The Danish Girl (2015).29Was named a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters in France on July 28th, 2015. This distinction is awarded by the French Ministry of Culture to people "who have distinguished themselves by their creativity in the artistic or literary field or the contribution they have made to the influence of the arts and literature in France and in the world".30Has played a soldier five times: in De smaak van De Keyser (2008) (a Belgian soldier in World War II), Tunnelrat (2008) (an Allied in World War One), Death of a Shadow (2012) (a Belgian soldier in World War One), Suite Française (2014) (a German soldier in World War II) and Maryland (2015) (a French soldier in Afghanistan).31Jacques Audiard e-mailed Matthias and convinced him to read the script of Maryland (2015) that his friend Alice Winocour had written for him. Audiard directed Matthias in Rust and Bone (2012) and the two of them became friends.32Carey Mulligan suggested him for the role of Gabriel Oak in Far from the Madding Crowd (2015) after having seen him in Rust and Bone (2012).33Was mentioned in a Sony leaked email as a casting option for the role of Vosch in The 5th Wave (2016). He was also mentioned in an untitled super hero film.34In 2008, he starred in the Belgian mini-series De smaak van De Keyser (2008), about the Nazi occupation of Belgium. In this mini-series, Schoenaerts plays a Belgian soldier who goes to war and has to leave his girlfriend behind. Years later, he played a German officer who falls in love with a French girl in Suite Française (2014), a movie about the Nazi occupation of France. He also appeared in Black Book (2006) as a member of the Dutch Resistance in World War II.35Played the piano when he was a kid, so he had a little basis for his role in Suite Française (2014), but he wanted to learn how to play for real in the film. Schoenaerts also learned to speak German for his role as German soldier Bruno von Falk.36Initially, he didn't want to accept the role of a Nazi officer in Suite Française (2014) for moral issues, but he changed his mind after reading the book in which the movie is based and thought: "if the writer loves the character so much, then I have to allow myself to love him as well".37Ranked on TC Candler's annual list of "The 100 Most Handsome Faces From Around the World". He was ranked #21 in 2015, #9 in 2014 and #42 in 2013.38Six of his films have been selected for the Toronto Film Festival in four consecutive years: Rust and Bone (2012) in 2012, Blood Ties (2013) in 2013, The Drop (2014) and A Little Chaos (2014) in 2014 and Maryland (2015) and The Danish Girl (2015) in 2015.39Was set to star in D'Ardennen (2015) but dropped out and was replaced by Kevin Janssens.40Is a fan of Breaking Bad (2008), The Wire (2002) and The A-Team (1983).41Was cast for the lead role of Belgica (2016), but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts.42Starred in two films that made their world premieres at the 39th Toronto Film Festival in 2014: The Drop (2014) and A Little Chaos (2014), the latter was also the festival's closing-night film. [September 2014].43Was offered the lead role in François Ozon's Une nouvelle amie (2014), but declined due to scheduling conflicts with Far from the Madding Crowd (2015). Romain Duris was cast instead and was nominated for a César award.44Was originally cast as the male lead in Alive Alone but dropped out. Idris Elba replaced him. He gave the script to Noomi Rapace while they were shooting The Drop (2014).45Has worked with Michaël R. Roskam four times. First in the short film The One Thing to Do (2005), then in the features Rundskop (2011), The Drop (2014) and The Racer and the Jailbird (2017).46Was in talks to play the male lead in Tulip Fever (2017), but turned it down and was replaced by Dane DeHaan.47Face of Louis Vuitton Menswear Spring/Summer 2014 campaign.48Turned down the role of Batman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016). During an interview on the Dutch TV show "24 uur met" in February 2016, Schoenaerts told that he felt he was too young to play Batman in his mid 40's. Schoenaerts was 35 years old when he was offered the role.49Filmed four movies in 2013: A Little Chaos (2014), The Drop (2014), Suite Française (2014) and Far from the Madding Crowd (2015).50Appeared on the cover of the first issue of French magazine Elle Man. [October 2013].51Is often compared to Ryan Gosling. During an interview in 2013, Gosling told that Schoenaerts is an incredible actor and that he hopes he get to work with him. Schoenaerts told Vancouver Sun in 2015 that he's interested in doing a project with Gosling, they also have a friend in common, Nico Leunen.52After starring together in Rust and Bone (2012), Marion Cotillard recommended him for a role in her boyfriend's Guillaume Canet directorial debut in Hollywood: Blood Ties (2013). Canet told that he chose Schoenaerts after hearing Cotillard praising him several times.53Played the same character in two different languages (Flemish and English), first in the Belgian film Loft (2008) and years later in the American remake The Loft (2014) - it was also his first English-speaking role.54Featured on W Magazine's portfolio of the Best Performances of 2012, for his performance in Rust and Bone (2012) [February 2013].55As of 2015, has appeared in three films that have been nominated for an Academy Award: Daens (1992) (Best Foreign Language Film), Rundskop (2011) (Best Foreign Language Film) and Death of a Shadow (2012) (Best Live Action Short Film).56Was originally cast as Leo Woeste in Waste Land (2014) but dropped out. Jérémie Renier was cast instead.57Was considered by director José Padilha for the lead role of RoboCop (2014), but he dropped out because he thought that he wasn't prepared for a big movie like that yet. The part went to Joel Kinnaman. There's a scene in Rust and Bone (2012) in which Schoenaerts' character nicknames Marion Cotillard's character "RoboCop". Schoenaerts also worked with Paul Verhoeven, the director of the original RoboCop, in Black Book (2006).58Two films in which he played the lead received Oscar nominations in two consecutive years: Rundskop (2011) was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film in 2012 and Death of a Shadow (2012) was nominated for Best Live Action Short Film in 2013.59First Belgian male actor to win a César award and one of 5 Belgian actors overall to win the award. The others are Natacha Régnier, Cécile De France, Yolande Moreau and Déborah François.60Marion Cotillard revealed that the first and only time that she liked filming sex scenes was in Rust and Bone (2012), on her scenes with Matthias.61Has starred opposite his friend Jeroen Perceval twice: in Injury Time (2010) and Rundskop (2011).62His performance as Jacky Vanmarsenille in Rundskop (2011) and Tom Hardy's performance in Bronson (2008) were Steven Ogg's inspirations to play Trevor Phillips in Grand Theft Auto V (2013). Steven Ogg revealed his inspirations at the New York Comic Con in October 2013. Schoenaerts and Hardy appeared together in the film The Drop (2014) directed by Michaël R. Roskam, who is also Bullhead's director.63After putting on 27 kilos during two years to play Jacky in Rundskop (2011) and loosing it, he had to gain weight again to play Ali in Rust and Bone (2012). He spent two months boxing, doing MMA training on a daily basis and also doing weightlifting and eating junk food like burgers, ice-cream and pizza in order to gain weight and a little belly, because Jacques Audiard wanted Ali to look strong but not fit, a bit unhealthy because the character is poor, so he doesn't have the means to feed himself properly.64Had to cultivate 27 kilograms of muscle mass to apply himself to the role of Jacky Vanmarsenille in Rundskop (2011), he prepped for the role for two years, committing to a diet of 3000 tins of tuna, several hundred chickens and plenty of oats, rice and pasta combined with an exhaustive weight lifting regimen. In addition, he also studied the Limburgish dialect to ensure he was performing with authenticity, so he wouldn't offend the natives. He also wore a prosthetic nose.65Auditioned for a role in David Cronenberg's A Dangerous Method (2011). The audition went well and the casting agents wanted to call him back, however, he had pledged his commitment to Rundskop (2011) and so had to let the opportunity slip.66Appeared in two films with Laura Verlinden: Loft (2008) and Death of a Shadow (2012). They also appeared on the mini-series De smaak van De Keyser (2008), although they didn't share any scene.67Starred in two films with Els Dottermans. She played his girlfriend in Meisje (2002) and years later she played his mother in Dennis van Rita (2006).68Is a fan of Daniel Day-Lewis, Simone Signoret, Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix.69His father Julien Schoenaerts was named "the Marlon Brando of Flanders". Since he starred in Rundskop (2011) and Rust and Bone (2012), Matthias has been called "the Belgian Brando".70Starred in two films directed by Dorothée Van Den Berghe: Meisje (2002) and My Queen Karo (2009).71Appeared 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.72Graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in Antwerp in 2003.732003: Named as one of European films' Shooting Stars by European Film Promotion.74Was 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.75Spent a year in film school but was kicked out for poor attendance.76Is a fan of Belgian football club FCO Beerschot Wilrijk and of Spanish club FC Barcelona.77Was 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.78Grew 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.79Has a tattoo on his left inner arm, a triangle. This tattoo can be seen in the film A Bigger Splash (2015).80Uncle of Ellen Schoenaerts.81Has 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).82Was 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 2016.83Son of actor Julien Schoenaerts and costume designer/translator/French teacher Dominique Wiche.84Has appeared in Belgian, Dutch, French, American, British and Italian films, in which he speaks Flemish, Dutch, French, English and German.85Is a graffiti artist under the pseudonym "Zenith".86Lives in Antwerp, Belgium.87Grew up bilingual speaking Flemish/Dutch and French. He's also fluent in English, which he learned by watching American films.88His name is pronounced "Ma-tee-us Scone-arts".