Johan Heldenbergh

Johan Heldenbergh — Biography

Johan Heldenbergh is a Belgian actor, playwright, screenwriter and theatre director. His international breakthrough came with The Broken Circle Breakdown (2012), a film adapted from his own stage play, in which he played Didier; it won the audience prize at the 2013 Berlin Film Festival and earned him a European Film Award nomination for Best Actor.

The first phase of his career belonged to the stage and Flemish television. He formed the Compagnie Cecilia initiative with writer Arne Sierens in 2006, debuted in cinema in 1995 as Tom in Antonia, and appeared in series such as Flikken, Witse and De Ridder. In 2011 he wrote and directed Schellebelle 1919. His profile then grew through Flemish films such as Ben X (2007), Moscow, Belgium (2008) and De helaasheid der dingen (The Misfortunates, 2009), and he worked with Felix Van Groeningen on several projects, including Belgica.

Later he moved toward international productions: Through the Air (as Renaud), The Confessions, The Zookeeper's Wife (2017), The Hummingbird Project (2018), Carnivores (2018) and A Woman (2022). In Quo Vadis, Aida? (2020) he played Colonel Thom Karremans. He lived with the actress Joke Devynck for nineteen years, and their separation was made public in 2013. His date of birth is given as either 11 May or 9 February 1967.