Biografia
A versatile actress of stage and screen, best recognized for her roles in Werner Herzog films and winner of Best Supporting Actress at Cannes for "Woyzeck." One of her most celebrated leading performances is portraying her mentor, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, in "A Man Called EVA" (Fassbinder, known by his initials RWF, was a kind influence on Eva Mattes).
Daughter to a film composer father and actress mother, Mattes first attracted attention as a teenager when she started her acting career. She worked with Fassbinder on films such as Jail Bait, Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant, and Effi Briest; played a Vietnamese rape victim in Verhoeven's O.K., based on the same event as Casualties of War (1989); and briefly appeared in early 70s exploitation films like Naked Massacre, inspired by the Richard Speck murders.
Mattes progressed to lead roles in prestigious and socially engaged films, including Herzog’s Stroszek, portraying a German prostitute who escapes to the U.S.; Fassbinder’s In A Year of 13 Moons, as the daughter of a transsexual; Adlon’s Céleste (1980), playing the title character as Proust’s devoted aide; and Hauff’s Mathias Kneissl (1971), the German Robin Hood.
Her recent work includes playing the mother of a young go-between in Enemy at the Gates and starring opposite Isaach De Bankole (the assassin in Casino Royale, 2006) in Otomo.
Lately, she has ventured into singing, releasing a CD of English-language standards in 2006, as well as participating in children’s films, stage dramas, and musicals. As of 2008, she stars in Tatort, the world’s longest-running detective series.
Mattes is mother to artist daughter Hanna, with director Werner Herzog, and also has a son, Josef, who is an active young actor.
