Henning Baum was born in Essen on September 20 1972. Following high school and mandatory civil service, he studied acting at the Schauspielschule Bochum (1994-1997). He went on to perform in productions at the Schauspielhaus Bochum, the Staatstheater Mainz and the Stadttheater Würzburg.

Around 2000, Baum began to focus on his screen career. After supporting roles in theatrical releases like "Mädchen Mädchen!" ("Girls on Top", 2001), "Viktor Vogel - Commercial Man" (2001), and "Die Klasse von '99 - Schule war gestern, Leben ist jetzt" (2003), he had his breakthrough playing a gay police detective in the highly successful TV series "Mit Herz und Handschellen". The role, which he played from 2002 until 2010, also garnered him a German Television Award in 2004.

Right after "Mit Herz und Handschellen" ended its run in 2010, Baum was again cast for the role of a charismatic police detective, this time as the star of the equally successful TV series "Der letzte Bulle". His performance as the imposing and likeable macho detective Michael 'Mick' Brisgau garnered Baum the 2011 Bavarian Television Award, the 2012 Actor's Award at the Monte Carlo Television Festival and the 2013 "Romy". The last episode of the series aired in June 2014.

While he was starring in "Mit Herz und Handschellen" and "Der letzte Bulle", Henning Baum occassionally guest-starred on other TV shows like "Polizeiruf 110", "Tatort" or "SOKO München". He also had memorable turns in the two-part drama "Die Luftbrücke - Nur der Himmel war frei", the comedy "Deutschmänner" (2006), the maritime adventure "Der Seewolf" (2008) and the romantic comedy "Nicht mit mir, Liebling" (2012). He played German army colonel Alfred Martin, an informer for the news magazine "Der Spiegel" in 1962, in Roland Suso Richter's "Die Spiegel-Affäre" (2014).

Over the years, Baum frequently worked with director Carlo Rola, for instance on "Niemand ist eine Insel" (2011, TV), "Götz von Berlichingen" (2014, TV) and "Die Himmelsleiter - Sehnsucht nach morgen" (2015, TV).

Aelrun Goette directed Baum in "Im Zweifel" (2016, TV), in which he plays the husband of a female pastor (Claudia Michelsen) who increasingly doubts her faith. He also worked again with Roland Suso Richter on the psychological thriller "Der 7. Tag" (2017). Also due to his successful TV career, Henning Baum only sporadically stars in theatrical releases. He played the likeable school principal Rex in "Burg Schreckenstein" ("Shiverstone Castle", 2016) and the sequel "Burg Schreckenstein 2 - Küssen (nicht) verboten" ("Shiverstone Castle 2", 2017). In Dennis Gansel's live-action adaptation of the children's book classic "Jim Knopf und Lukas der Lokomotivführer" ("Jim Button and Luke the Engine Driver", 2018), Baum starred as the beloved train driver Lukas.

After the title role in the TV two-parter "Der Staatsfeind" (2018), as an unjustly persecuted policeman, Baum once again slipped into his signature role: In the feature film "Der letzte Bulle" (2019), based on the series of the same name, he again impersonated the macho policeman Mick Brisgau.