
Lea van Acken
Acting
Biography
Van Acken grew up in Schleswig-Holstein, where she still lives today in a small village. As a child, she was interested in horseback riding and dancing. She first took the stage in 2011 as an extra in a production of *Der Ölprinz* at the Karl May Festival in Bad Segeberg. She did not undergo formal training as an actress; instead, she studied other actors by watching them in films. In 2014, Van Acken played the lead role—that of the deeply religious teenager Maria—in the drama *Kreuzweg* (Stations of the Cross), directed by Dietrich Brüggemann. The film won a Silver Bear at the 2014 Berlin International Film Festival. In Brüggemann’s next film, *Heil*—a satire about neo-Nazis—Van Acken portrayed a teenager. She also played a small role in Bernadette Knoller’s RBB television film *Ferien*. In 2015, she appeared in a supporting role in the fifth season of the US series *Homeland*, which was filmed entirely in Germany. She also appeared in the SWR television film *Sag mir nichts* and in the *Spreewaldkrimi* installment *Das Duell im Moor* (ZDF). In the film adaptation of *The Diary of Anne Frank*, Van Acken played the title role of Anne Frank. To prepare for the role of the Jewish girl who became famous through her diary, she wrote fictional letters to Anne Frank. For the final scene—which takes place in a concentration camp—the actress had her hair cut off to ensure an authentic portrayal.
Known For

CIA officer Carrie Mathison is tops in her field despite being bipolar, which makes her volatile and unpredictable. With the help of her long-time mentor Saul Berenson, Carrie fearlessly risks everything, including her personal well-being and even sanity, at every turn.
Homeland

Tatort is a long-running German/Austrian/Swiss, crime television series set in various parts of these countries. The show is broadcast on the channels of ARD in Germany, ORF in Austria and SF1 in Switzerland.
Scene of the Crime
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ZIBB

No description available.
Morgenmagazin

A missing child sets four families on a frantic hunt for answers as they unearth a mind-bending mystery that spans three generations.
Dark

No description available.
Kölner Treff

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Wer weiß denn sowas?
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Bavarian Film Awards

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German Genius

A deadly virus hits a small community living on an island in the North Sea.
The Island

Lena is happily married. From the strange man in the S-Bahn but such a pull goes out that she gets involved in a spontaneous infidelity. The stranger, Martin, also thought that the marriage with his wife was completely safe. Nevertheless, what should actually be written off as an adventure between Lena and Martin is becoming the projection screen for newly created needs and longings. Lena and Martin can not let go of each other.
Sag mir nichts

No description available.
Spreewaldkrimi

A chain reaction in the European power grid plunges the continent into darkness. Hacker Pierre Manzano realizes that a code he wrote is to blame. In Germany Frauke Michelsen heads the country’s crisis response team. Disaster looms.
Blackout: Tomorrow Is Too Late

Police officer Luise Berg heads for an inevitable catastrophe after her daughter’s murderer is released early from prison. A psychologically complex game of confusion begins in which the boundaries of guilt and innocence, perpetrators and victims, law and justice are constantly blurred.
Two Sides of the Abyss

Hardly any piece of clothing embodies freedom, pragmatism and individuality as much as the Bluejeans. It is considered a symbol of the "American Dream" and is carried from arm to rich by almost every person. Despite their popularity, very few know the history of their invention. Around 1850, the German-Jewish peddler son Levi Strauss emigrated to America with his sister due to lack of prospects and anti-Semitism in the old Franconian homeland. His brothers are already doing a dry goods store there. When the big gold rush breaks out, Levi continues to San Fransicso, where he opens a textile goods business under his own name. The demand from the gold-diggers for hard-wearing pants is high. So the bustling businessman teams up with the ingenious Latvian tailor Jacob Davis, who came up with the idea of strengthening the seams of the pants with rivets. But a protection money patron dominates the port city and makes life difficult for them. And there are also difficulties with the patent.
Call Me Levi

A bank robber becomes a teacher after being released from prison and finds himself at the center of a number of crazy adventures.
Suck Me Shakespeer 3

An African-German Author loses his memory and is used by a modern National Socialist Party as promotion-figure for more political power over Germany.
Heil

While handing out food at a charity organization, Laura, Evîn and Julia unexpectedly cross paths. Laura, a released prisoner, defends Evîn, a Kurdish woman, when she is racially insulted by a man waiting in line. Eventually the situation gets out of hand.
Wovon sollen wir träumen

A wealthy teen and his friends attending an elite private school uncover a dark conspiracy while looking into a series of strange supernatural events.
The Privilege

Ostwind and Mika have found a real home at the farm Kaltenbach with Mika's grandmother. In the hustle of running therapy center and due to Mika's fame as a horse-whisperer, she feels that she doesn't have enough freedom and time to ride. After a serious disagreement with her grandmother, Mika secretly sets off for the night in eastern Andalusia, Spain, where she suspects Ostwind's roots are.