Claudius Steffens, born in 1984 in Berlin-Pankow, initially worked as a baker in England and studied theatre technology and cultural education for several semesters before graduating from the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts in Berlin.
Guest engagements took him to Maxim Gorki Theater, Hebbel am Ufer and Schaubühne Berlin, where he worked, among others, with directors Leander Haußmann and Peter Kastenmüller. He was also artistically active for many years with the Berlin-based performance collective Drifting Underground. In 2012, he joined Theater Münster as a permanent ensemble member, where he appeared, among other roles, as Franz in Schiller's The Robbers, Haemon in Sophocles' Antigone, Beckmann in Borchert's The Man Outside, and in the title roles of Shakespeare's Hamlet and Goethe's Urfaust. In 2015, Steffens joined Schauspiel Leipzig, where he worked, among others, with directors Claudia Bauer, Philipp Preuss, Gordon Kämmerer and Armin Petras.
Since 2019, Steffens has worked as a freelance actor. He has appeared in radio dramas, television productions and feature films, including the internationally successful and Emmy-nominated Netflix thriller series Dear Child. Alongside his acting work, he regularly creates performative actions and happenings with the artist collective FC Mailand Innenhof. From 2021 to 2026, Claudius Steffens was a member of the ensemble at Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus. There he appeared, among other roles, as Oedipus (directed by Felix Krakau), Amphitryon (directed by Milena Michalek), in the world premiere of Homeoffice (written and directed by Toshiki Okada), as Klaus Mann in Man muss sich Mephisto als einen glücklichen Menschen vorstellen (directed by Jan Bonny), and in Jeder stirbt für sich allein (directed by Nora Schlocker). He also appeared at the 2023 D’haus Open Air as Figaro in Figaros Hochzeit oder Der tolle Tag (directed by Andreas Kriegenburg) and as Veit Kunz in Wedekind's Franziska (directed by Sebastian Baumgarten). During his years in Düsseldorf, Sebastian Baumgarten, Milena Michalek and Toshiki Okada were particularly influential directors for him. In May 2026, Steffens also made his directing debut at Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus with the world premiere of Bad Mexican Dog.
*Photo by Lev Gonopolskiy