Lea van Acken

Acting

Lea van Acken

Born 1999-02-22 · Lübeck, Germany

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.

Acting credits

Suck Me Shakespeer 3 poster
6.1

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

2017

The Privilege poster
5.2

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

2022

Windstorm 3 poster
7.4

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.

Windstorm 3

2017

Liebesbesuch poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Liebesbesuch

2026

Bibi & Tina: Perfect Pandemonium poster
5.5

It's perfect pandemonium when Bibi and Tina meet a runaway boy with an attitude problem, who turns out to actually be a girl, named Adea. Adea‘s uncle is so narrow-minded and stubborn that even with all her magic spells, Bibi can't manage to get the two to reconcile. Meanwhile, Falkenstein Castle is being renovated, which is driving the Count to his wits' end. Especially since Alex is planning to hold a music festival at Falkenstein and is determined to go through with it over his father's objections. And if all that was not enough, Tina gets kidnapped. Despite the complete chaos, one thing is clear - in the end, real change comes from everybody working and pulling together, not by magic.

Bibi & Tina: Perfect Pandemonium

2017

Drop poster
5.0

When restless Lisa tries to sneak backstage at a techno festival, a fun night out with her best friend turns into a confrontation with her own psyche.

Drop

2026

Sag mir nichts poster
5.4

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

2016

The Diary of Anne Frank poster
7.2

The story of Anne Frank, the Jewish girl who went into hiding with her family in Amsterdam and became a victim of the Holocaust.

The Diary of Anne Frank

2016

Wovon sollen wir träumen poster
NR

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

2026

Stations of the Cross poster
7.0

Maria finds herself caught between two worlds. At school this 14-year-old girl has all the typical teenage interests, but when she’s at home with her family she follows the teachings of the Society of St. Paul and their traditionalist interpretation of Catholicism. Everything that Maria thinks and does must be examined before God. And since the Lord is a strict shepherd, she lives in constant fear of committing some misconduct...

Stations of the Cross

2014

No artwork available
NR

A young theologian tries to stop her brother from going to Ukraine as a volunteer fighter – but his radical decision seems to call her own life plan into question and plunges her into an existential crisis.

Und keiner geht hin

2025

No artwork available
6.0

Two friends embark on a journey together which will test the limits of their friendship and uncover dark secrets. Reality and imagination start to blur. Can they trust everything they see?

Cracks

2020

Heil poster
5.0

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

2015

All My Loving poster
5.3

Three siblings have all reached a point of their life, at which they realize the need to quickly change some things before they step into the second half of their lifetime. In the midst of chaos, insufficiency and loss they are searching for the path that just might lead them to happiness.

All My Loving

2019

Hitlerputsch 1923: Das Tagebuch der Paula Schlier poster
NR

Germany 1923: Inflation, starvation, unstable political conditions. During this time, 24-year-old Paula Schlier goes undercover at the “Völkischer Beobachter”, the Nazi Party’s official newspaper, and gets caught at the centre of Hitler’s attempted coup.

Hitlerputsch 1923: Das Tagebuch der Paula Schlier

2023

Ferien poster
5.8

Vivi is exhausted. Actually, she is about to become an attorney and to move in together with her boyfriend Adam, but somehow, she is stuck. She tries to flee back to her Moms couch, only to find that there is no more space for her. Vivi's father assumes that she needs some rest and sends her to an island...

Ferien

2016

5 Finger sind 'ne Faust poster
5.0

No synopsis available yet.

5 Finger sind 'ne Faust

2025

Abikalypse poster
4.4

The four friends Musti (Reza Brojerdi), Hannah (Lea van Acken), Yannick (Jerry Hoffmann) and Tom (Lucas Reiber) could not be more different. But they have one thing in common: They are all pretty nerdy misfits who only just survived school thanks to their mutual support. For graduation, they want to prove it to everyone and promise nothing less than the craziest party of the year. However, the closer the legendary party gets, the more the friends realize that there seems to be something between them. Be it unspoken feelings, hurt pride or fear of the future. When the big day of the party finally dawned, the four of them were no longer just about celebrating, but about saving what is most important to them: their friendship!

Abikalypse

2019

4 Days to Eternity poster
5.0

Based on the mysterious legend of Idilia Dubb. Germany, 19th century, Middle Rhein Valley. The dreamy Idilia awakes injured in the midst of a gloomy castle ruin and can't remember anything that happened before. When she discovers in horror that there is no escaping the towering castle walls, she begins a grueling fight for survival. Only her nebulous diary can help her decipher the past, which exposes a secret romance with Abyssinian actor Caven, a performer in a human zoo exhibition run by her fiancee Franz Hagerberg. Idilia's written record, however, blurs the lines between reality and fiction.

4 Days to Eternity

2023

No artwork available
NR

Four friends plan to organise a great party to celebrate the end of school. In the process, they discover they have outstanding issues with each other. Soon they'll be fighting to keep what matters most to them: their friendship.

Abikalypse

2019

Behind the camera