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Markus Schleinzer was born on 8 November 1971 in Vienna, Austria. His entry into the film industry is not clearly documented. He made his acting debut in 1994 with a supporting role in Wolfgang Murnberger's autobiographically inspired, award-winning film "Ich gelobe" ("I Promise"). After several small acting parts, he shifted mainly to casting work from 1998 onward.
Until 2012, his casting agency vendettafilm assembled casts for numerous high-profile productions, particularly Austrian films such as Ulrich Seidl's "Hundstage" ("Dog Days," 2001) and Stefan Ruzowitzky's Oscar-nominated "Die Fälscher" ("The Counterfeiters," 2007).
He frequently collaborated with directors including Jessica Hausner ("Hotel," 2004; "Lourdes," 2009), Michael Glawogger ("Slumming," 2006; "Contact High," 2007; "Das Vaterspiel," 2009), and Benjamin Heisenberg ("Schläfer," 2005; "Der Räuber," 2010). For Wolfgang Murnberger he worked on ten films, including "Der Knochenmann" ("The Bone Man," 2011). He also cast for Michael Haneke on "Die Klavierspielerin" ("The Piano Teacher," 2001), "Le temps du loup" ("Time of the Wolf," 2003), and the award-winning international success "Das weiße Band - Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte" ("The White Ribbon," 2009), where he supervised casting for 48 child and adolescent actors.
Alongside casting, he occasionally acted. Notable roles include a probation officer in Heisenberg's "Der Räuber" ("The Robber," 2010) and a wine merchant in Stefan Krohmer's "Die fremde Familie" (2011, TV). In theatre, he appeared in several works by Constanze Dennig, including as a ruthless TV show host in "Extasy Rave" (Theater Graz, 2003) and a corrupt right-wing politician in "Demokratie" (Literaturhaus Graz, 2005). He also directed Dennig's "Valse Triste" in 2004.
Schleinzer debuted as a feature film director in 2011 with "Michael," a psychological drama about a man (Michael Fuith) who keeps a boy captive. The film premiered in competition at Cannes 2011, received positive reviews, and was praised by Michael Haneke. At the Viennale, "Michael" won the Vienna Film Prize for Best Film. It also won the main award at the Max Ophüls Prize, was nominated at the European Film Awards for European Discovery – Best First Feature, and received multiple Austrian Film Awards nominations, winning Best Sound Design.
In later years, Schleinzer continued acting in supporting roles, including a supermarket manager in the award-winnning social drama "Einer von uns" ("One of Us," 2015) and a bossy incident commander in the TV crime drama "Tatort: Virus" (2017).
His second feature as director, "Angelo" (2018), explored the life of Angelo Soliman, an African man brought to Vienna in the 18th century and raised in aristocratic society as an "exotic curiosity." The film screened internationally and received multiple Austrian Film Awards nominations, including Best Film, Best Director, and Best Screenplay.
He later appeared as SS General Otto Hofmann in "Die Wannseekonferenz" ("The Conference," 2021, TV) and Emperor Franz Joseph in "Sisi & ich" ("Sisi & I," DE/AT/CH, 2022). In 2024, he directed his third film, "Rose," based on true events about a woman disguising herself as a man in a 17th-century village. It premiered in competition at Berlinale 2026 to strong reviews, with Sandra Hüller winning the Silver Bear. At Diagonale in Graz, Schleinzer and co-writer Alexander Brom received the screenplay award. "Rose" was released in German cinemas in April 2026.