Prince August Fredrik zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (), known professionally as August Wittgenstein, (born 22 January 1981) is a German-Swedish actor and member of the princely

House of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg was one of several imperial counties and later principalities ruled by the House of Sayn-Wittgenstein. Most of the former county is located in the present district of Siegen-Wittgenstein (in the modern state of North ...

. Wittgenstein has appeared in English, German, and Swedish language films, starring in the 2013 German television movie '. He is known for his portrayals of

Georg Donatus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse Georg Donatus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse (''Georg Donatus Wilhelm Nikolaus Eduard Heinrich Karl'', 8 November 1906 – 16 November 1937) was the first child of Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse, and his second wife, Princess Eleono ...

in ''

The Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

'' and Count Alfred Eckbrecht von Dürckheim-Montmartin in ''

Ludwig II Ludwig II (Ludwig Otto Friedrich Wilhelm; 25 August 1845 – 13 June 1886), also called the Swan King or the Fairy Tale King (), was King of Bavaria from 1864 until his death in 1886. He also held the titles of Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duk ...

'' as well as his roles as Karl Tennstedt in ''

Das Boot (; ) is a 1981 West Germany, West German war film written and directed by Wolfgang Petersen, produced by Günter Rohrbach, and starring Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer and Klaus Wennemann. An Film adaptation, adaptation of Lothar-Günthe ...

'' and Andreas Wolf in ''

Deadwind ''Deadwind'' () is a Finnish crime drama and Nordic noir television series directed and created by Rike Jokela, starring Pihla Viitala, Lauri Tilkanen, Jani Volanen, and Tommi Korpela. It premiered in Finland in March 2018 on Yle TV2 and in Aug ...

''.

Early life and education

Wittgenstein was born on 22 January 1981 in

Siegen Siegen () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany, in the south Westphalian part of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located in the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein in the Arnsberg (region), Arnsberg region. The university town (n ...

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

and is a member of the

, an old German noble family. He is the younger son of Prince Ludwig Ferdinand of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and Countess Yvonne

Wachtmeister af Johannishus The Wachtmeister family () is a Swedish noble family from Livonia, who immigrated to Sweden in the 16th century. The name ''Wachtmeister'' is German for 'sergeant'. The family branched out in 1683, and was "introduced" at the Swedish House of No ...

, a member of the

Swedish nobility The Swedish nobility (, or , ) has historically been a legally or socially privileged Social class, class in Sweden, and part of the so-called ''frälse'' (a derivation from Old Swedish meaning ''free neck''). The archaic term for nobility, ''fr ...

. His paternal grandparents were Prince Ludwig Ferdinand of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and Princess Friederike Juliane of

Salm-Horstmar Salm-Horstmar was a short-lived Napoleonic County in far northern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, located around Horstmar, to the northeast of Münster. It was created in 1803 for Wild- and Rhinegrave Wilhelm Frederick Charles Augustus of Salm- ...

. He is the great-grandson of

Richard, 4th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg Richard, 4th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (, 27 May 1882 – 25 April 1925) was Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg from 1904 to 1918. Life Prince Richard was born on 27 May 1882 at Berleburg, Germany, to Prince Gustav of Sayn-Wittgen ...

and Princess Madeleine of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg. Wittgenstein is the brother of the journalist and writer

Princess Anna of Bavaria Princess Anna of Bavaria (; née Princess Anna-Natascha zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg; born 15 March 1978), known professionally as Anna von Bayern, is a German journalist and author who has been serving as the Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at ...

and of Princess Theodora zu Wittgenstein. He grew up speaking both German and Swedish and is a

dual citizen Multiple citizenship (or multiple nationality) is a person's legal status in which a person is at the same time recognized by more than one sovereign state, country under its nationality law, nationality and citizenship law as a national or cit ...

. When he was fifteen, Wittgenstein attended a boarding school in Sweden. After completing school, he lived in the United Kingdom, Paris, and Australia. He later graduated from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

. From 2005 until 2007 he studied acting at the

American Academy of Dramatic Arts The American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) is a Private college, private drama school with two locations, one in New York City and one in Los Angeles. The academy offers an associate degree in occupational studies and teaches drama and related ...

Career

Wittgenstein started his acting career in 2008 with some roles in short films. In 2009 he had a role as a

Swiss Guard The Pontifical Swiss Guard,; ; ; ; , %5BCorps of the Pontifical Swiss Guard%5D. ''vatican.va'' (in Italian). Retrieved 19 July 2022. also known as the Papal Swiss Guard or simply Swiss Guard,Swiss Guards , History, Vatican, Uniform, Require ...

in the film ''

Angels & Demons ''Angels & Demons'' is a 2000 bestselling mystery- thriller novel written by American author Dan Brown and published by Pocket Books and then by Corgi Books. The novel introduces the character Robert Langdon, who recurs as the protagonist of ...

''. In 2011 he had a supporting role in the Swedish drama ''

Avalon Avalon () is an island featured in the Arthurian legend. It first appeared in Geoffrey of Monmouth's 1136 ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' as a place of magic where King Arthur's sword Excalibur was made and later where Arthur was taken to recove ...

''. He portrayed Count Alfred Eckbrecht von Dürckheim-Montmartin in the 2012 German feature film ''

''. In 2013 he played the role of Travis in the science fiction drama '' The Congress''. In 2013, Wittgenstein landed his first starring role in the German television movie '. He played the role of

in ''

''. He has also had roles in ''

'', ', ''Ein starkes Team: Späte Rache'', '' In Your Dreams'', ''

Notruf Hafenkante is a German television series broadcast on ZDF. It is set in Hamburg and is about the members of the police department PK 21 and the doctors of the fictional hospital Elbkrankenhaus. The show's premise is modelled on the Davidwache police st ...

'', ''

Leipzig Homicide ''Leipzig Homicide (SOKO Leipzig)'' is a German crime drama television series first broadcast on 31 January 2001 on ZDF. More than 400 episodes have been screened since. On 12 November 2008, the first of a two-part crossover between ''SOKO Leipz ...

'', '' Cologne P.D.'', ''

SOKO München ''SOKO München'' (until 2015: ''SOKO 5113'') is a German police procedural television series that first aired on 2 January 1978 on ZDF. "SOKO" is an abbreviation of the German word ''Sonderkommission'', which means "special investigative team". ...

'', ''Nord bei Nordwest'', ''Ein Lächeln nachts um vier'', ''

Ku'damm 56 Ku’damm 56 is a German Television film, television trilogy about the 1950s youth generation in the period between the end of World War II and the German Wirtschaftswunder. It tells the story of a conservative mother and her three daughters of m ...

'', ''Jenny – echt gerecht'', and ''Josephine Klick – Allein unter Cops''.

Personal life

In 2021, Wittgenstein and Austrian psychologist and podcaster Mia Rohla became engaged. She is the daughter of the Austrian businessman and television personality Martin Rohla. They were married September 3, 2022 in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wittgenstein, August Living people 1981 births 21st-century German male actors 21st-century Swedish male actors American Academy of Dramatic Arts alumni Georgetown University alumni German male film actors German male television actors

August August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Southern Hemisphere, August is the seasonal equivalent of February in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere, August ...

People from Siegen Swedish male film actors Swedish male television actors Male actors from North Rhine-Westphalia Royalty and nobility actors