Exceptional talent Julius Weckauf: He made his debut in the Hape Kerkeling biopic

Exciting times for young actor Julius Weckauf. Shortly after Christmas, he celebrates his 17th birthday on December 27th. A few days after the New Year, his new film “The Three ??? and the Carpathian Dog” will be released in cinemas on January 23rd. And this Monday evening (December 9th) at 9:45 p.m. the film that started it all will be shown on Das Erste: “The boy needs to get some fresh air” (2018). In the film adaptation of Hape Kerkeling’s (60) autobiography from 2014, the Jüchen native played the young comedian in key dramatic moments of his life.

He got along “greatly” with Kerkeling, who stopped by the set “from time to time” during the six-week filming period. The Recklinghausen native also seemed to have liked what he saw, because: “I heard that Hape later said: He’s like me,” Wecauf recalled.

For his memorable portrayal of the young Kerkeling, exceptional talent Julius Weckauf received the Romy as Best Young Male Actor, the special prize of the New Faces Awards, the Golden Hen in the Newcomer of the Year category, the Children’s Media Prize The White Elephant in the Best Young Actor category, the child actor award at the Eat My Shorts – Hagen Short Film Festival and the award for best actor at the Seattle International Film Festival.

In October 2024, Hape Kerkeling and Justus Weckauf met again for a film premiere. They posed together on the red carpet for the documentary “Hape Kerkeling – Totally normal”, which will be shown on Erste today, December 9th at 8:15 p.m. in honor of the entertainer’s 60th birthday.

“I think I’ll be grateful for the rest of my life that I was able to play you back then. I hope that made you happy,” and continued: “Hape, all the best! I hope we’ll see each other again soon […] “I’ll make crepes again and then you’ll come over,” said the young star.

After his film debut as a child actor, Julius Weckauf continued with major productions and prominent fellow actors:

His filmography includes, among others, the biopic “Lindenberg! Do your thing” (2020), the comedy film “Grandchildren for Beginners” (2020) with Heiner Lauterbach (71) and the novel adaptation “Catweazle” (2021) with comedian Otto Waalkes ( 76). For the latter children’s film, Weckauf and Waalkes received the Audience Award at the Bavarian Film Prize in 2021.

In 2023, the children’s crime film “The Three ??? – Heir of the Dragon” with Julius Weckauf in one of the three main roles was released in cinemas, followed by the second part “The Three ??? and the Carpathian Dog” at the beginning of 2025.

The detective trio “The Three ???” with the secret headquarters in the scrapyard of Justus’ uncle Titus (Florian Lukas, 51) and aunt Mathilda (Jördis Triebel, 47) finally has a new exciting case.

Mysterious things happen in Mr. Prentice’s (Ulrich Tukur, 67) apartment: loud noises are heard, objects move… And when a valuable crystal sculpture – the Carpathian Dog – is stolen, Justus Jonas (Julius Wecauf) , Peter Shaw (Nevio Wendt, born 2006) and Bob Andrews (Levi Brandl, 16) all the residents of the apartment complex are suspicious – especially the unfriendly property manager Evelyn Boogle (Sunnyi Melles, 66) …