# Laurence Rupp
**Laurence Rupp** (born 1987 in Vienna) is an Austrian theater and film actor known for playing [Arminius](https://www.edgepedia.org/arminius) in the Netflix historical series *[Barbarians](https://www.edgepedia.org/barbarians-2020-tv-series)*, for the Austrian Film Prize-winning lead in *Cops* (2018), and for his breakthrough as a teenager in the thriller *In 3 Tagen bist du tot* (2006).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0750478/) • [2](https://www.munzinger.de/register/portrait/biographien/rupp%20laurence/00/34185) From 2027 he is scheduled to appear as Vienna "Tatort" commissioner Alex Maleky.[2](https://www.munzinger.de/register/portrait/biographien/rupp%20laurence/00/34185)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1987 in Vienna, Austria; nationality Austrian[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0750478/) • [3](https://www.filmmakers.eu/en/actors/laurence-rupp) |
| Training | Max Reinhardt Seminar, Vienna, 2010–2014, after studying environment and bioresource management[2](https://www.munzinger.de/register/portrait/biographien/rupp%20laurence/00/34185) |
| Breakthrough | *In 3 Tagen bist du tot* (2006), Andreas Prochaska's thriller about teenagers receiving murder threats by SMS[2](https://www.munzinger.de/register/portrait/biographien/rupp%20laurence/00/34185) |
| Signature role | Arminius in Netflix's *Barbarians* (season 1, 2020; season 2, 2021)[4](https://kurier.at/kultur/interview-mit-laurence-rupp-von-paul-celan-zum-actionhelden/401223903) |
| Major award | Austrian Film Prize for best male leading role for *Cops* (2019)[5](https://www.stibitz-management.at/28-Laurence-Rupp) |
| Theater | Ensemble member at the Burgtheater Wien 2013–2016 and the Berliner Ensemble 2017–2018[5](https://www.stibitz-management.at/28-Laurence-Rupp) |
| Upcoming | "Tatort" commissioner Alex Maleky in Vienna from 2027[2](https://www.munzinger.de/register/portrait/biographien/rupp%20laurence/00/34185) |
## Early life and training
Rupp stood in front of the camera repeatedly as a child, brought to his first castings by his father, a production manager in film. One of his early television appearances was in the "Kommissar Rex" episode "Furchtbare Wahrheit" (1999).[2](https://www.munzinger.de/register/portrait/biographien/rupp%20laurence/00/34185) In a 2021 *Kurier* interview he said he first appeared on camera at age eleven, and that he had not originally intended to act: he wanted to be a pilot or an eye surgeon, and because his father's project-based work meant constant financial ups and downs, he sought a profession with a steady income.[4](https://kurier.at/kultur/interview-mit-laurence-rupp-von-paul-celan-zum-actionhelden/401223903)
The 2006 Austrian thriller *In 3 Tagen bist du tot*, about a group of teenagers who receive murder threats by text message, made him known to a wider audience and marked the turning point at which he decided to pursue acting.[2](https://www.munzinger.de/register/portrait/biographien/rupp%20laurence/00/34185) • [4](https://kurier.at/kultur/interview-mit-laurence-rupp-von-paul-celan-zum-actionhelden/401223903) After finishing school he first studied environment and bioresource management at the BOKU, then applied to the Max Reinhardt Seminar, the renowned Vienna acting school, partly as what he called a lark, to see how far he would get; he was accepted and attended from 2010 to 2014.[2](https://www.munzinger.de/register/portrait/biographien/rupp%20laurence/00/34185) • [4](https://kurier.at/kultur/interview-mit-laurence-rupp-von-paul-celan-zum-actionhelden/401223903) He has said he wanted the formal training so he could call himself an actor with justification, holding that theater is the mother of the acting craft.[4](https://kurier.at/kultur/interview-mit-laurence-rupp-von-paul-celan-zum-actionhelden/401223903)
## Screen career
Rupp's filmography spans roughly 22 titles from 2006 to 2025.[6](https://newmovietowatch.com/p/person-laurence-rupp/) In Ruth Beckermann's *Die Geträumten* (2016) he reads the letters of [Paul Celan](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-celan), whom he portrays; the film approaches the difficult love relationship between [Ingeborg Bachmann](https://www.edgepedia.org/ingeborg-bachmann) and Celan.[4](https://kurier.at/kultur/interview-mit-laurence-rupp-von-paul-celan-zum-actionhelden/401223903) • [7](https://www.epd-film.de/personen/laurence-rupp) He then took on physically different parts: an elite police officer in *Cops* (2018), the small-time crook Leo in the ORF series *Vorstadtweiber*, and the warrior Arminius in *Barbarians*.[4](https://kurier.at/kultur/interview-mit-laurence-rupp-von-paul-celan-zum-actionhelden/401223903) *Cops* brought him the Austrian Film Prize for best male leading role in 2019.[5](https://www.stibitz-management.at/28-Laurence-Rupp) He also appeared in a small role as Opera Police in *Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation* (2015).[8](https://www.metacritic.com/person/laurence-rupp/)
In 2024 he played the Austrian multibillionaire Amon Maynard in the satire *Veni Vidi Vici* by Daniel Hoesl and Julia Niemann, a character whose corrupt political connections leave him free to kill cyclists for relaxation; Rupp said he liked the film's radical political statement and that the character consistently follows through on his actions rather than being redeemed.[9](https://kurier.at/kultur/laurence-rupp-romy-nominierung-marie-kreutzer-gentle-monster-lea-seydoux-catherine-deneuve/403091885) Later credits include Christian Weller in Dennis Gansel's Second World War tank film *Der Tiger* (2025) and roles in *Zweitland* (2025) and the Netflix series *Unfamiliar* (2026).[5](https://www.stibitz-management.at/28-Laurence-Rupp) • [7](https://www.epd-film.de/personen/laurence-rupp)
## Barbarians
*Barbarians*, which depicts the [Battle of the Teutoburg Forest](https://www.edgepedia.org/battle-of-the-teutoburg-forest) in 9 CE, was described by *Kurier* as the most successful German-language production on Netflix at the time.[4](https://kurier.at/kultur/interview-mit-laurence-rupp-von-paul-celan-zum-actionhelden/401223903) Rupp was originally considered for both Arminius and Folkwin and chose Arminius after reading the material.[10](https://www.derstandard.de/story/2000121133797/laurence-rupp-in-netflix-serie-barbaren-jeder-schwertschlag-erzaehlt-etwas) Preparation for the battle scenes took place at a "bootcamp" in Hungary, where for one month he was trained in riding, sword fighting, and Latin, working with stunt coordinator Richard Ryan, whose credits include *Troy*.[4](https://kurier.at/kultur/interview-mit-laurence-rupp-von-paul-celan-zum-actionhelden/401223903) • [10](https://www.derstandard.de/story/2000121133797/laurence-rupp-in-netflix-serie-barbaren-jeder-schwertschlag-erzaehlt-etwas) He described the sword choreography as comparable to learning text, saying that every sword stroke should tell something and carry a decision.[10](https://www.derstandard.de/story/2000121133797/laurence-rupp-in-netflix-serie-barbaren-jeder-schwertschlag-erzaehlt-etwas) On the series' treatment of the historically charged battle, he said the portrayal concerns politics and power rather than race, and that the Arminius he played contradicts what right-wing identifications project onto the figure.[10](https://www.derstandard.de/story/2000121133797/laurence-rupp-in-netflix-serie-barbaren-jeder-schwertschlag-erzaehlt-etwas)
## Theater
Rupp was an ensemble member at the Burgtheater Wien from 2013 to 2016 and at the [Berliner Ensemble](https://www.edgepedia.org/berliner-ensemble) from 2017 to 2018; his Berliner Ensemble roles included Benjamin von Stuckrad-Barre in *Panikherz* (2018) and Teiresias in *Die Entführung Europas* (2017).[5](https://www.stibitz-management.at/28-Laurence-Rupp) • [11](https://austrian-actors.filmmakers.eu/de/actors/laurence-rupp) In the 2021 *Kurier* interview he said he had left ensemble engagement behind for a while because film and theater schedules were hard to reconcile, but that he would like to appear as a guest in a stage production.[4](https://kurier.at/kultur/interview-mit-laurence-rupp-von-paul-celan-zum-actionhelden/401223903)
## Recognition
Rupp received Romy nominations as most popular actor in series in 2021, for *Barbarians* and *Vorstadtweiber*, and again in 2022.[4](https://kurier.at/kultur/interview-mit-laurence-rupp-von-paul-celan-zum-actionhelden/401223903) • [5](https://www.stibitz-management.at/28-Laurence-Rupp) Earlier honors include best male actor at the Brussels Short Film Festival in 2015 and the Actors on Mise-en-Scène Award at an international student film festival in 2014 for *Die Jacke*.[5](https://www.stibitz-management.at/28-Laurence-Rupp)
## References
1. [Laurence Rupp, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0750478/)
2. [Laurence Rupp, Munzinger Biographie](https://www.munzinger.de/register/portrait/biographien/rupp%20laurence/00/34185)
3. [Laurence Rupp, Filmmakers Europe](https://www.filmmakers.eu/en/actors/laurence-rupp)
4. [Interview mit Laurence Rupp: Von Paul Celan zum Actionhelden, Kurier (2021)](https://kurier.at/kultur/interview-mit-laurence-rupp-von-paul-celan-zum-actionhelden/401223903)
5. [Laurence Rupp, Daniela Fruhmann Management](https://www.stibitz-management.at/28-Laurence-Rupp)
6. [Laurence Rupp: movies and shows](https://newmovietowatch.com/p/person-laurence-rupp/)
7. [Laurence Rupp, epd Film](https://www.epd-film.de/personen/laurence-rupp)
8. [Laurence Rupp, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/person/laurence-rupp/)
9. [Laurence Rupp im Interview: „Catherine Deneuve ist meine Schwiegermutter“, Kurier (2025)](https://kurier.at/kultur/laurence-rupp-romy-nominierung-marie-kreutzer-gentle-monster-lea-seydoux-catherine-deneuve/403091885)
10. [Laurence Rupp in Netflix-Serie "Barbaren": "Jeder Schwertschlag erzählt etwas", derStandard.at (2020)](https://www.derstandard.de/story/2000121133797/laurence-rupp-in-netflix-serie-barbaren-jeder-schwertschlag-erzaehlt-etwas)
11. [Laurence Rupp, Austrian Actors](https://austrian-actors.filmmakers.eu/de/actors/laurence-rupp)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Theater and dance › Stage practitioners and craft › Acting: theory, technique, and teachers › Acting coaches and training biographies › Overview of acting teaching and coaching*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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