Jacob Matschenz, born 1984 in Berlin, became an actor during his school days rather accidentally: Sent by his mother, he applied for a casting but did not land the part. Nevertheless, director Jakob Hilpert gave him a part in his graduation film "Kleine Kreise" ("Circling", 1999). In the following years, the autodidact who never attended drama school appeared in movie and TV productions such as Kai Wessel"s "Juls Freundin" (2002) or Norbert Baumgarten"s comedy "Befreite Zone" ("Liberated Zone", 2003). In 2005, Matschenz made his breakthrough performance in the leading role of "Das Lächeln der Tiefseefische" ("The Smile of the Monsterfish"). His portrayal of a sensitive teenager living in adverse conditions won Matschenz the award of "Best young actor" at the Max Ophuels film festival.

Matschenz then consolidated his reputation as one of the most promising young actors in German cinema with his parts in the highly praised "Wholetrain", a film about graffiti sprayers, and in the drama "Neandertal" (both 2006). In 2008, he appeared in four different productions: Matschenz starred alongside Nadeshda Brennicke in the TV movie "Unschuld", in the "coming of age" story "Zweier Ohne" ("Coxless Pair"), in Dennis Gansel"s star-studded adaptation of the novel "Die Welle" ("The Wave"), and in the omnibus film "Berlin – 1. Mai" ("Berlin – 1st of May") that premiered at the 2008 Berlinale.

Also in 2008, he played a supporting role in Caroline Link"s "Im Winter ein Jahr". This was followed by appearances in "Die Vorstadtkrokodile" and the adventure romp "12 Meter ohne Kopf". In 2010, Matschenz starred in two productions: In "Renn, wenn Du kannst" he plays a male nurse caught in a love triangle, and in the award-winning drama "Bis aufs Blut – Brüder auf Bewährung", he portrays a convicted youth struggling to break free from a life of crime.