Alexandra Maria Lara (née Plătăreanu; 12 November 1978) is a Romanian-German actress, best known internationally for her roles in the films Downfall (2004), Control (2007), Youth Without Youth (2007), The Reader (2008), Rush (2013), and Geostorm (2017). From 2022 to 2025, she served as co-president of the Deutsche Filmakademie.
Early life Born in Bucharest, Lara is the only child of actor Valentin Plătăreanu and his wife, Doina. Her father was a successful actor and director in Romania, directing many plays such as Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare and Hernani by Victor Hugo.
In 1983, her family emigrated to West Germany from their home in Bucharest, Romania. Although the family had originally planned to emigrate to Canada, they settled in Freiburg im Breisgau, before eventually moving to West Berlin. She became fluent in German.
Career By the age of sixteen, Lara was playing lead roles in various television dramas; since then she has appeared in films, including as Traudl Junge, Adolf Hitler's secretary, in the Academy Award-nominated 2004 film Downfall; following this Francis Ford Coppola wrote her a letter and gave her a leading role in Youth Without Youth (2007).
In 2007, Lara appeared as Belgian journalist Annik Honoré in the biopic Control. In 2008 she served as a member of the Cannes Film Festival jury. She has also appeared in several French productions, including Napoléon and L'Affaire Farewell. She appeared in The Reader and Der Baader Meinhof Komplex, which were both nominated for the 81st Academy Awards for best picture and best foreign language film respectively.
In 2018, Lara starred with her husband, Sam Riley, in Happy New Year, Colin Burstead by Ben Wheatley, playing his German girlfriend.
Alongside Florian Gallenberger, Lara served as president of the Deutsche Filmakademie from 2022 to 2025.Bert Rebhandl (21 June 2022), Deutsche Filmakademie: Es ist schlimmer, als man sieht Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.Wolfgang Höbel (24 April 2025), Neue Leitung der Deutschen Filmakademie: »Den Franzosen fällt es leichter als den Deutschen, die eigene Kultur zu hypen« Der Spiegel.
Personal life
In August 2009, Lara married English actor Sam Riley, with whom she had acted in the films Control and Suite Française. In January 2014, she gave birth to their first child, a boy. They played a couple on screen in Ben Wheatley's drama Happy New Year, Colin Burstead.
Filmography +YearFilmRoleNotes1995I Desire YouMädchen am Bahnhof1997Das VorsprechenJunge SchauspielerinShort film1999Sperling (Sperling und der falsche Freund)Our Island in the South PacificSandra2000Just Messing AboutHannaCrazyMelanie2001HonoluluCleonise99 Euro FilmsSegment "Privat"Leo & ClaireKäthe Katzenberger2002If It Don't Fit, Use a Bigger HammerAstridNakedAnnette2004Leise KriegerNoraShort filmDownfallTraudl JungeCowgirlJohanna "Paula" Jakobi / Murderous Lady im Film Noir2005Venus MorgensternIda2006OffsetBrindusa HerghelegiuWhere Is Fred?Denise Poppnick2007ControlAnnik HonoreI Really Hate My JobSuzieYouth Without YouthVeronica / Laura / Rupini2008Miracle at St. AnnaAxis SallyThe Baader Meinhof ComplexPetra SchelmThe ReaderYoung Ilana Mather2009Juliana LukasThe City of Your Final DestinationDeirdre RothemundFarewellJessicaCity of LifeNatalia Moldovan2010The Nazi Officer's WifeA Distant NeighborhoodAnna VerniazSmall WorldSimone Senn2011Sarah2012LiviaImagineEvaMove OnLena2013RushMarlene Lauda2015Suite FrançaiseLeah2016The Most Beautiful DayMonaRobbi, Tobbi und das Fliewatüüt Sharon Schalldämpfer (voice)SingRosita (voice)German-language dubVier gegen die BankFreddie2017GeostormUte Fassbinder201825 km/hIngridAntonia BergerHappy New Year, Colin BursteadHannah2019The Collini CaseJohanna2020Børning 3: Asphalt BurningRobin2021The King's ManEmily Oxford2022The Sitting DuckJulie2025BulkAclima2026Eat Pray BarkUrsula Brandmeier
Television +YearFilmRoleNotes1994Stella StellarisMiniseries1996Mensch, Pia!Pia Mangold10 episodes1997LauraEpisode: "Tote weinen nicht"1998Silke HartmannTV filmTatortKerstinEpisode: "Fürstenschüler"Young RenateTV film1999Polizeiruf 110MeikeEpisode: "Sumpf"2000Vertrauen ist allesJennifer BlankenburgTV filmLady CopSabine SasseEpisode: "Die Geliebte des Killers"Force MajeureNicoletteTV film2001The TunnelCharlotte "Lotte" Lohmann2002Liebe und VerratMarie IrimiaSchleudertraumaDoreenNapoléonComtesse Marie WalewskaMiniseriesDoctor ZhivagoTonya Gromyko ZhivagoPrincess AmélieTV film2004Camilla Senger geb. HofmannMiniseries2007The CompanyLili2017You Are WantedHanna Franke12 episodes2022Toutes ces choses qu'on ne s'est pas ditesJulia Saurel9 episodes
References
External links
2005 interview on cineastentreff.de