Enlarge image
Matthias Schweighöfer: "Oppenheimer" follows "Army of the Dead"
Photo: Gerald Matzka / picture alliance / dpa
It has long been known that he is part of the ensemble in the ambitious project of the British-American star director Christopher Nolan.
Now the secret of his role has been revealed: the actor Matthias Schweighöfer, 41, plays the German physicist Werner Heisenberg in the film »Oppenheimer«.
Director Nolan told SPIEGEL.
The biopic, which is due to hit American cinemas in July, tells the life story of Robert Oppenheimer.
The American physicist helped build the first atomic bomb as the scientific director of the top-secret Manhattan Project during World War II.
Werner Heisenberg, one of the most important physicists of the 20th century, played a leading role in the National Socialists' uranium project.
It also served the development of nuclear weapons, but did not lead to the goal.
According to Nolan, the film reenacts an encounter between Heisenberg and Oppenheimer.
For Schweighöfer, the role could be a new opportunity to expand his artistic reputation in Hollywood.
Previously he played in the US zombie horror »Army of the Dead«.
He even directed and starred in its prequel »Army of Thieves«.
phw