Leonie Benesch

Actor · Born April 22, 1991 (35) · Hamburg, Germany

Berlinale award winner

Leonie Benesch (born April 22, 1991) is a German actress who has played roles in major productions including Babylon Berlin and The Crown, as well as Around the World in 80 Days. She is currently based in London. In 2009, Benesch played the role of Eva in the film The White Ribbon, which won the Golden Palm. Film critics singled out her performance as "a discovery". She received the American "Young Artist Award" for her work, as well as a "New Faces Award". In 2010, she performed in Philip Koch's drama Picco and in Sophie Heldman's film Colors in the Dark (Satte Farben vor Schwarz), where she worked alongside Senta Berger and Bruno Ganz. In 2017, Benesch performed in Babylon Berlin as Greta Overbeck, winning the "German Acting Prize". Benesch also performed in The Crown as the sister of Prince Philip, Princess Cecilie of Greece and Denmark. In 2020, she was cast in the BBC miniseries Around the World in 80 Days, alongside David Tennant as Phileas Fogg and Ibrahim Koma as Passepartout. Benesch grew up in Tübingen, and attended the Freie Waldorfschule. She also attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. She is of French and Transylvanian descent.

What are Leonie Benesch's films like?

Across their 12 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Survival.

Themes

share of theme weight

Morality

31%

Survival

22%

Bonds

13%

Power

11%

Self

11%

Ideas

6%

Society

5%

Survival4 Deception3 Justice3 Betrayal2 Community3

What they feel like to watch

their average across 8 films

ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category

Earnest

Tone · Sincerity

ironicearnest

Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 8

Dark

Tone · Weight

lightdark

Light 0 · Serious 1 · Dark 7

Grounded

Tone · Style

naturalisticheightened

Grounded 7 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 1

Intense

Feel · Intensity

gentleintense

Gentle 0 · Charged 2 · Intense 6

Steady

Feel · Swings

steadyswings

Steady 6 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 0

Straight-faced

Feel · Humor

noneconstant

Straight-faced 8 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 0

Even-paced

Demand · Pace

slowrelentless

A split, not a type: Slow burn 4 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 1

Engaged

Demand · Attention

casualfull focus

Casual 0 · Engaged 4 · Full focus 4

Heavy

Demand · Emotional cost

easyheavy

Easy watch 0 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 6

Open-ended

Demand · Resolution

resolvedambiguous

A split, not a type: Resolved 4 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 1

Roles they play

6 analyzed roles

Usually the Ally: 3 of 6 analyzed roles.

Ally

3 of 6

Hero

2 of 6

Shapeshifter

1 of 6

Allyas Eva in The White Ribbon (2009)
Shapeshifteras Eliza Hahn in Spy City (2020)
Allyas Abigail 'Fix' Fortescue in Around the World in 80 Days (2021)
Heroas Carla Nowak in The Teachers' Lounge (2023)
Allyas Marianne Gebhardt in September 5 (2024)
Heroas Floria Lind in Late Shift (2025)

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense

9

Dread

6

Contemplative

5

Melancholic

4

Cold

2

Other

5

How their films linger

Thought-provoking7 Unsettling5 Bittersweet4 Haunting3 Devastating2

How their films end

Happy1
Bittersweet8
Tragic1
Ambiguous2

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Leonie Benesch's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 11 of their 19 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Prime Video (3).

Also on these channels

MHz Choice2 titles, show their 2 titles on MHz Choice
PBS Masterpiece2 titles, show their 2 titles on PBS Masterpiece
Cohen Media Channel1 title, show their title on Cohen Media Channel

Subscription and free streaming for Leonie Benesch's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

39 credits, 19 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.

Mädchen in Uniform (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2027)
Actor
ZOMA (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2027)
as Elli Schreiber
Prisoner (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2026)
Show 6 episodes · as Nina Drâgus
Berlin Hero(2025)
as Natalie Hartung
Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films
Late Shift(2025)
as Floria Lind
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
Moresnet (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)
Show 6 episodes · as Eva Rolin
September 5(2024)
as Marianne Gebhardt
Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films
The Teachers' Lounge(2023)
as Carla Nowak
Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films
The Swarm(2023)
Show 8 episodes · as Charlie Wagner
Midcredits score: 14th percentile of all shows
Around the World in 80 Days(2021)
Show 8 episodes · as Abigail 'Fix' Fortescue
Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all shows
Spy City(2020)
Show 6 episodes · as Eliza Hahn
Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all shows
Persian Lessons(2020)
as Elsa
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films
The Turncoat (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)
Show 4 episodes · as Hildegard Roth
Phoenix (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)
Actor
Holiday Secrets(2019)
Show 3 episodes · Actor
Midcredits score: 24th percentile of all shows
Vienna Blood(2019)
Show 2 episodes · as Helena Rieger
Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all shows
Der Club der singenden Metzger (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)
Show 4 episodes · as Eva
The Master Butcher (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)
as Eva
Brecht (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)
Show 1 episode · as Young Elisabeth Hauptmann
1929 - Das Jahr Babylon (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)
Actor
Counterpart (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)
Show 2 episodes · as Sofia
Howards End(2017)
Show 4 episodes · as Frieda Mosenbach
Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all shows
Babylon Berlin(2017)
Show 28 episodes · as Greta Overbeck
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all shows
The Crown(2016)
Show 3 episodes · as Princess Cecilie
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all shows
8 Saniye(2015)
as Helen
Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films
Viking Women (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)
as Jova
Das Jerusalem-Syndrom (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)
as Maria
Die Flut ist pünktlich(2014)
as Mia Halbach
Midcredits score: 19th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
George (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)
as Margot Hanke
Murder in the North (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)
Show 1 episode · as Gaby Zinke
Picco(2010)
as Kevins Girlfriend
Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films
Colors in the Dark(2010)
as Yvonne
Midcredits score: 45th percentile of all films
Eine feste Burg (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)
as Katja Klein
The White Ribbon(2009)
as Eva
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
Beautiful Bitch (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)
as Gitti
Der Kriminalist (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)
Show 1 episode · as Clarissa von Tannenhof
SOKO Köln (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)
Show 1 episode · as Nadia Winkowski
Tatort(1970)
Show 1 episode · as Julia
Midcredits score: 43rd percentile of all shows
Heureka (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Actor

Career shape

Star power in the 97^th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 39 titles, 36 of them dated from 1970 to 2026; peak year 2024.

Biggest box office

The White Ribbon (2009)

$19M worldwide

Highest rated

The White Ribbon (2009)

Midcredits 97^th

Film career

19702026

Peak 2024 · at the high point of their film career. Top draw in 4 MovieCove titles. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.

2009Screen debut· The White Ribbon
2023First top-billed film· The Teachers' Lounge

By role

only this rolewith another role

Acting39 of 39 · 65^th

By decade

1970s1 · acting2000s4 · acting2010s19 · acting2020s12 · acting

Billing

usually 3rd · top billed in 33% of 6 roles

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30.

Awards

Won a Berlinale award in 2023.

Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.

How do Leonie Benesch's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 81^st percentile, the median of all 10; across their 8 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 85^th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

85^thpercentile

Typical film, the median of 8

Approval · how many liked their films

89^thpercentile

Typical film, the median of 8

Reach · how many have seen their films

85^thpercentile

Typical film, the median of 8

Midcredits score across 19 titles, by percentile

75^th and up9
50^th to 74^th4
25^th to 49^th3
Below 25^th3

Shape of the crowd

7 of their 19 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

Universally Loved4
Crowd Pleaser7
Broadly Agreed3
Mixed5

Most divisive · actor

8 Saniye (2015)

71^st percentile spread · 18% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor

The Crown (2016)

Midcredits 98^th · 94% liked

Reviewers score the acting 81/100 in their films, across 6 reviewed titles; fans 87, detractors 59. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Leonie Benesch's work okay for kids?

Across up to 7 MovieCove titles with content scores, frightening / intense runs heavier than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles

Violence & Gore6 titles30–62 · median 35 · moderatenear the median of all films

Sex & Nudity7 titles5–47 · median 23 · mildnear the median of all films

Profanity5 titles27–46 · median 28 · mildnear the median of all films

Alcohol & Drugs6 titles25–39 · median 33 · mildnear the median of all films

Frightening / Intense5 titles61–75 · median 68 · intenseheavier than most films

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does Leonie Benesch work with?

People who share at least 2 of Leonie Benesch's MovieCove titles; Hansjörg Weißbrich shares the most, 2.

Hansjörg Weißbrich2 titles See all 2 shared titles with Hansjörg Weißbrich
Judith Kaufmann2 titles See all 2 shared titles with Judith Kaufmann