Friedrich von Thun was born Friedrich Ernst Peter Paul Maria Graf von Thun und Hohenstein on June 30, 1942 in Kwassitz Castle, Moravia (now the Czech Republic). He came to Austria with his family at the age of three. There he attended the grammar school in Seckau and completed his studies with the Matura, before his father was called to Pöcking in Bavaria by Archduke Otto as private secretary. Von Thun was already active in a theater group as a schoolboy and began studying German and theater studies in Munich in 1960. At the same time, he took private acting lessons and performed in student cabarets.

Axel von Ambesser initially gave him smaller roles in film productions before bringing him to the Müncher Kammerspiele for his production of Wolfgang Christlieb's "Gewitter am See", where von Thun made his theater debut. He made his first major film appearance in 1964 under Helmut Käutner in the comedy "Lausbubengeschichten" ("Tales of a Young Scamp"). In this film, as well as in the sequels "Tante Frieda - Neue Lausbubengeschichten" (1965) and "Wenn Ludwig ins Manöver zieht" (1967), he played the forester Franz.

This was followed by numerous roles in cinema and television films as well as in several television series. To date, Friedrich von Thun has appeared in over 160 productions. For example, he starred alongside Hartmut Becker and Eva Mattes in Michael Verhoeven's highly acclaimed and controversial Vietnam war drama "O.K." (1970) as the American sergeant Tony Meserve. On the other hand, he took on the role of a sexually inquisitive reporter in the first three parts of the infamous "Schulmädchen-Report" ("Schoolgirl Report") series. At this time, he was also seen on television in the "Tatort" episode "Kressin und der Mann mit dem gelben Koffer" (1973).

In the television series "Der Bastian" (1972-73), von Thun played the brother of the eponymous hippie student Bastian. The role of Junker Hinz in the adventure series "Des Christoffel von Grimmelshausen abenteuerlicher Simplizissimus" (1975) seemed to be tailor-made for von Thun, who was born into the aristocracy, and in the following decades he often played gentlemen from higher social classes.

Von Thun could be seen on the big screen with Mario Adorf in the crime comedy "MitGift" (1976). He then took on numerous roles in television productions, including the French television series "Nouvelles de Henry James" (1975) and the television films "Notwehr" (1977) and "Kameliendame" (1978), before playing the role of gardener Mr. Rogers in 13 episodes of the British television adaptation of Enid Blyton's "Five Friends" (1978).

In 1981, under the direction of Axel Corti, he played the husband of the former Archduchess of Austria, Maria Theresia, in the Austrian historical film "Wie der Mond über Feuer und Blut". The magnificent "Ringstraßenpalais" in Vienna gave its name to the 1980 television series of the same name, in which von Thun played Count Bernard Artenberg for seven episodes. In 1984, he made his final breakthrough in Axel Corti's multi-award-winning adaptation of the novel "Eine blaßblaue Frauenschrift" (AT), in which he plays the leading role of a high-ranking Austrian government official who receives a letter from his former lover, a German Jewess, in 1936, in which she asks for the support of her son, who could be his child. Friedrich von Thun received the grand prize at the Monte Carlo television festival in 1986 for this role.

In 1986, Italian directing legend Federico Fellini cast von Thun in a supporting role as a kidnapped industrialist in his film "Ginger e Fred" ("Ginger and Fred", IT 1986). The following year, he played Johannes von Meerungen in the highly successful ZDF television series "Das Erbe der Guldenburgs" ("The Legacy of Guldenburgs"), which was broadcast in three seasons until 1990. He also played a nobleman under Axel Corti's direction in the international co-productions "The King's Whore" (F/UK/AT/IT 1990) and "Das Schicksal des Freiherrn von Leisenbohg" ("The Fate of the Baron of Leisenbohg", F/D 1991, TV).

In 1992, he played Albert Schweitzer in two episodes of the US television series "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles". This was followed in 1993 by an appearance in Steven Spielberg's "Schindler's List" as Rolf Czurda, head of the SS security service in Krakow. In the same year, he played the fictional minister Klaus Weidenfeld in the political thriller "Der Fall Lucona" ("The Lucona Affair"). From 1994 to 1996, he played the title role of Dr. Wolfgang Schwarz in the television series "Ärzte - Dr. Schwarz und Dr. Martin".

Von Thun could be seen as district administrator Siegfried Wallner in four episodes of "Der Bulle von Tölz" (1996-99). From 1998 to 2004, he played the title role of a criminology lecturer who solves crimes in his spare time in the crime series "Die Verbrechen des Professor Capellari". He also played a leading role in the six-part television series "Fast ein Gentleman" (2000), in each episode playing a different middle-aged man who has to make serious decisions. Von Thun starred with Heiner Lauterbach and Monica Bleibtreu in the TV film "Eine Liebe in Afrika" ("A Love in Africa", 2003), before playing General Erich Ludendorff in the Canadian-American TV film "Hitler: The Rise of Evil".

This was followed by further roles in various television films, such as Dominik Graf's drama "Kalter Frühling" ("Cold Spring", 2004) and the light comedy "Heute heiratet mein Mann" (2006). For "Helen, Fred and Ted" (2006, TV), about three psychiatrists who run a clinic in Munich, von Thun received the Bavarian Television Award in 2007.

After leading roles in the TV multi-part series "Zodiak- Der Horoskop-Mörder" (D/AT 2007) and "Dell & Richthoven" (2008), Friedrich von Thun was seen in 2009 in the two-part TV drama "Entführt" directed by Matti Geschonneck: he received a nomination for the Grimme Prize in 2010 for the role of a millionaire industrial magnate who falls victim to a kidnapping.

Von Thun has continued his prolific work for television in recent years. In addition to various TV films, he has made guest appearances in numerous series, including "Ein starkes Team" (episode "Das große Fressen", 2009), "Rosamunde Pilcher" ("Lords lügen nicht", 2010) and "Das Traumschiff" ("Bora Bora", 2011). In the highly acclaimed business thriller "Ein mörderisches Geschäft" (2011) with Devid Striesow and Christiane Paul, von Thun was seen as an experienced manager who comes under increasing pressure. In Nikolai Müllerschön's family comedies "Hochzeiten" (2012) and "Hochzeiten 2" (2013), he played a patriarchal entrepreneur who has to come to terms with his ecologically active ex-wife. Also under the direction of Müllerschön, von Thun played his first cinema role in many years: In "Harms" (2013), he played a former board member of the Bundesbank who provides a gangster with insider knowledge for a robbery. In the TV two-parter "Die Pilgerin" ("The Pilgrim", 2014), he played a mayor at the end of the 14th century.

On the big screen, Friedrich von Thun appeared in the romantic comedy "Traumfrauen" ("Dreamgirls", 2015) as a husband who unexpectedly leaves his longtime wife (Iris Berben) for a younger woman. He also played the dementia-stricken father of a cynical Viennese policeman in the thriller "Die Hölle – Inferno" ("Cold Hell", 2017). In the children's film "Benjamin der Elefant" (2019), he portrayed the zoo director.

However, von Thun was especially prominent in television productions. He played the father of a former Stasi agent in "Unsichtbare Jahre" ("Invisible Years", 2015), the father of a morally conflicted policeman in the neo-noir "Der Polizist und das Mädchen" ("One Man's Happiness", 2018), and a lawyer in the social drama "Vier Saiten" (2020). Notably, from 2018 to 2023, he had a leading role as an estate owner in the popular homeland TV series "Zimmer und Stall."

In 2024, the 82-year-old Friedrich von Thun joined the ensemble cast of Simon Verhoeven's comedy film "Alter weißer Mann."

Friedrich von Thun's son Max von Thun is also a successful actor.