World War I movies are a rarity when compared to other military conflicts like World War II and the Vietnam War, but that has been changing in recent years with titles like Sam Mendes’ Academy Award-winning drama, 1917, and Peter Jackson’s documentary, They Shall Not Grow Old. However, there have been some greats over the years like Paths of Glory, Johnny Got His Gun, and All Quiet on the Western Front, which has now been remade into a stunning new Netflix movie showcasing the horror, pain, and suffering of “the war to end all wars.”
One of the many book-to-film adaptations on the 2022 movie schedule, this epic anti-war film told from the perspective of German soldiers and military officials (the book on which it was based was written by Erich Maria Remarque, a German WWI veteran) features an incredible group of actors who may or may not be familiar to English-speaking audiences. To help make sense of the All Quiet on the Western Front cast and where you’ve seen the actors before, we’ve put together a quick yet comprehensive list of their biggest accomplishments in film, TV, and beyond…
Felix Kammerer (Paul Bäumer)
Front and center in the All Quiet on the Western Front cast is Felix Kammerer, who portrays the film’s central protagonist Paul Bäumer, a young German soldier who experiences hell on the battlefield in the final year of the war.
Despite being one of the main characters in the Netflix epic anti-war film, this is only the young actor’s second professional gig, and first as an adult, as his first movie — 1998’s David im Wunderland — saw him gave a performance as a young child.
Daniel Brühl (Matthias Erzberger)
Daniel Brühl, one of the most well-known members of the All Quiet on the Western Front cast, appears in the movie as German writer and politician Matthias Erzberger, a real-life figure who became one of the biggest opponents of World War I despite initially supporting it early on.
Brühl, who also serves as one of the executive producers, has long been a prolific actor on a global scale, with movies like Good Bye, Lenin!, The Bourne Ultimatum, Inglourious Basterds, and The King’s Man. However, he is probably best known for his portrayal of the all-time great villain, Helmut Zemo, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe; first in Captain America: Civil War, a.k.a. one of the best Marvel movies, and then later in the Disney+ streaming series, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Over the years, Brühl has also appeared on shows like The Alienist, The Trip, Tartor, and Verbotene Liebe.
Albrecht Schuch (Stanislaus ‘Kat’ Katczinsky)
Taking on the role of Stanislaus “Kat” Katczinsky is Albrecht Schuch, who portrays the older, more experienced, and positive leader of a group of soldiers that includes Paul Bäumer and multiple other young men.
Throughout his career, which goes back to a 2009 role in the German TV movie, Bei uns und um die Ecke, Schuch has bounced between the silver screen and small screen with appearances in movies like Fabian — Going to the Dogs, Berlin Alexanderplatz, Atlas, Measuring the Wind, and Westwind, as well as shows like Bad Banks, NSU German History X, and NeoParadise, to name only a few.
Aaron Hilmer (Albert Kropp)
Aaron Hilmer shows up in All Quiet on the Western Front as Albert Kropp, one of Paul Bäumer’s comrades and friends from school when the two, like so many other young Germans, are sent off to war.
Although he is not all that well known in the United States, Hilmer has had an extensive career in film and TV since making his professional acting debut in the 2012 short, Cowboy und Indianer. Since then, he has landed prominent roles on shows like The Last Word, The Island, and Preis der Freiheit. He has also appeared in movies like The Most Beautiful Girl in the World, Schrotten!, and Sex, Pity and Loneliness during that same stretch of time.
Moritz Klaus (Franz Müller)
Moritz Klaus appears in the cast as Franz Müller, another one of Paul Bäumer’s school friends and later a fellow soldier after volunteering to help out with the war effort.
Throughout his career, which dates back to the early 2000s, Klaus has appeared on a number of German TV series like Post Mortem, The Red Band Society, Nortuf Hafenkante, and Phoenixsee, as well as a number of made-for-TV movies like The Lost Brother, Relations, and The Hidden World.
Edin Hasanovic (Tjaden Stackfleet)
Taking on the role of Tjaden Stackfleet in All Quiet on the Western Front is Edin Hasanovic, who plays one of Paul’s young friends from before the war.
No stranger when it comes to Netflix, Hasanovic previously appeared on the 2019 sci-fi series, Skylines, which was a spinoff of the disaster movie Skyline. The German actor also shared the screen with Army of the Dead breakout Matthias Schweighöfer on the Amazon original series You Are Wanted. His other credits include movies like Only God Can Judge Me, Hey Bunny, and A Heavy Heart, as well as shows like Shades of Guilt, Familie Braun, and Queens of Comedy.
Adrian Grünewald (Ludwig Behm)
Adrian Grünewald appears in the All Quiet on the Western Front cast as Ludwig Behm, another young soldier who experiences the brutal reality of war in the trenches.
Prior to landing a role in the highly-anticipated military drama, Grünewald made a name for himself with roles on shows like The Island, Labyrinth of Peace, and Eden, all of which were released within the past three years.
Thibault De Montalembert (General Ferdinand Foch)
Appearing as French General Ferdinand Foch is Thibault de Montalembert.
Throughout his career, de Montalembert has been a fixture of French film, TV, and theatre, appearing in dozens upon dozens of productions dating back to the late 1980s. This includes shows like The Tunnel and Call My Agent!, movies like Lovers, The Sentinel, and The Little Apocalypse, and more. He’s also a major force in the world of dubbing, as he has been the French voice of actors like Hugh Grant (Notting Hill, Bridget Jones’s Diary, and Love Actually), Antonio Banderas (Spy Kids, Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over), and countless French-dubbed movies over the years.
Devid Striesow (General Friedrich)
And, taking on the role of Germany’s General Friedrich is Devid Striesow.
Over the years, Striesow has appeared in Academy Award-winning foreign films like The Counterfeiters, dramas like This Is Love, and comedies like I’m Off Then. He has also landed roles on shows like The Old Fox, Dignity, and several others dating back to the late 20th Century.
All Quiet on the Western Front is currently streaming for anyone with a Netflix subscription. If you want to learn more about the characters each of these actors are playing, now would be a good time to pick up a copy of the 1929 literary classic and other novels being turned into Netflix movies this year.
