Damian Hardung

Damian Hardung (born 7 September 1998) is a German actor who has rapidly become a recognizable face in contemporary European streaming series. Raised in Cologne, he displayed athletic talent early, joining the youth academy of SC Fortuna Köln before earning a scholarship that took him to New York at the age of fourteen, an experience that broadened his cultural perspective and later informed his nuanced performances. Though he initially pursued studies in medicine, his passion for storytelling led him to the screen when he was just twelve, debuting in short films such as Der Magische Umhang and Die Könige der Straße, which showcased his natural screen presence. By 2013 he secured his first leading role as Thomas in Clara and the Secret of the Bears, a performance that caught the attention of German television producers. Between 2015 and 2017 he embodied Jonas Neumann across all three seasons of VOX’s Club der roten Bänder, cementing his reputation as a versatile young actor capable of balancing drama and humor. His 2018 starring turn in The Most Beautiful Girl in the World—a modern comedic adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac—demonstrated his ability to carry a feature film, while his guest appearance in the sci‑fi series Spides added a genre‑bending credit to his résumé. International audiences first noticed Hardung in March 2019 when he portrayed Adso in RAI’s The Name of the Rose, acting alongside veterans Rupert Everett and John Turturro. The breakout role that defined his global profile arrived with Netflix’s How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast), where his portrayal of Daniel Riffert combined rebellious energy with subtle vulnerability, a character he later revisited in the 2022 spin‑off Buba. In 2023 he played Winnie Wolf in Our Miracle Years and was cast as James Beaufort in the Amazon Prime Video adaptation of Mona Kasten’s novel, Maxton Hall — The World Between Us, a series renewed for a second season in 2024. Off‑screen, Hardung continues his medical studies in Cologne, has assisted in Germany’s COVID‑19 vaccination campaign alongside his brother Leon, and actively supports environmental causes, having campaigned with Greenpeace and visited Antarctica in 2022 to raise awareness about climate change.