Charly Hübner was born in Neustrelitz on December 4th 1972. Beginning in 1991, he gathered first experiences as an actor and assistant director at the local theatre. From 1993 until 1997, he studied acting at the renowned "Ernst Busch Academy" in Berlin. During that time, he already appeared in plays at the "Maxim Gorki Theatre" and the "Schaubühne". Following his graduation in 1997, he performed at the "Schauspielhaus", the "TAT – Theater im Turm" – which are both based in Frankfurt –and at the "Schaubühne" in Berlin.

He then focused more on film and television: He had supporting roles in theatrical releases like "Männer wie wir" ("Balls", 2004) and made-for-TV productions like "Das Zimmermädchen und der Millionär" (2004), and also guest-starred in several "Tatort" episodes. In 2005, he starred in the ensemble tragicomedy "Im Schwitzkasten" ("No Swaet"), followed by a memorable turn as an officer of East-Germany's secret police in the award-winning drama "Das Leben der Anderen" ("The Lives of Others", 2006). After starring in the short-lived TV series "Post Mortem", he became a regular cast member of the comedy series "Ladykracher". Since 2010, Hübner stars alongside Anneke Kim Sarnau as a police detective in the Rostock edition of the "Polizeiruf 110" series, a part for which he won the 2013 Bavarian Television Award.

Along with his TV work, Hübner also appeared in stage productions in Zurich and Cologne. Among his movie roles number parts in the theatrical releases "Autopiloten" ("Autopilots", 2007), "Up! Up! To the Sky" (2008), "Die Gräfin" ("The Countess", 2009) and "Der Himmel hat vier Ecken" (2011). 

After getting rave reviews for his performance in the drama "Unter Nachbarn", Hübner starred opposite Christiane Paul in the tragicomedy "Eltern" ("Parents", 2013). The same year, he played the male lead in the thriller "Banklady". In the children's film "Bibi & Tina – Der Film" (2014), he played a conniving businessman and opponent of the two young lead characters. He also appeared in that same role in the film's sequels "Bibi & Tina: Voll verhext!" (2014, "Bibi & Tina: Bewildered and bewitched") and "Bibi und Tina 3 – Mädchen gegen Jungs" (2016, "Bibi und Tina – Girls vs. Boys"). The tragic comedy "Ohne Dich" (2014, "Without You"), in which Hübner portrays a psychotherapist, whose terminally ill wife wants him to help her commit suicide, targeted a more adult audience. In Christian Schwochow's "Bornholmer Straße" (2014), he played a GDR lieutenant, who opens the border crossing to West Germany in the night of November 9th without authorization.

After starring in four TV productions in 2015, Hübner returned to the big screen in 2016. Amongst others, he portrayed Swiss writer Emil Ludwig in Maria Schrader's "Vor der Morgenröte – Stefan Zweig in Amerika" ("Stefan Zweig - Farewell to Europe") and appeared in a supporting role as the mysterious Kreschimir, a companion of the main character, in Andreas Dresen's new adaptation of James Krüss's "Timm Thaler" ("The Legend of Timm Thaler or the Boy Who Sold His Laughter"). In the 2017 adaptation of Sven Regener's novel "Magical Mystery oder: Die Rückkehr des Karl Schmidt" ("Magical Mystery – or: The Return of Karl Schmidt"), Hübner starred in the title role as an artist, who after meeting some old friends finds himself on a mad road trip across Germany – as the designated driver.

Hübner next starred in the comedies "Fühlen Sie sich manchmal ausgebrannt und leer?" ("Do You Sometimes Feel Burned Out and Empty?", DE/NL 2017) and "Jürgen - Heute wird gelebt" (2017, TV). At the 2017 Festival DOK Leipzig he presented his first feature-length film as director: "Wildes Herz" (co-directed by Sebastian Schultz) portrays the East-German punk rock band Feine Sahne Fischfilet. The documentary won the DEFA-Förderpreis, the Gedanken-Aufschluss-Preis, the Dokumentarfilmpreis des Goethe-Instituts and the Preis der Vereinten Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft ver.di. It was released theatrically in Germany on April 12 2018. The same day saw also therelease of the Romy Schneider biopic "3 Tage in Quiberon" ("3 Days in Quiberon", DE/AT/FR), which premiered in the competition of the 2018 Berlin IFF and stars Hübner in the role of renowned news photographer Robert Lebeck. At the German Film Awards 2018, Hübner was nominated for this part for Best Supporting Actor.

He then appeared in a number of TV productions. In the thriller "Angst in meinem Kopf" ("Fear", 2018) he played a sex murderer; he was part of the main cast of Jan Georg Schütte's improvised comedy and mini-series "Klassentreffen" (2019) and had a supporting role in Eoin Moore's tragicomedy "Sommer nach dem Abitur" ("The Summer After Graduation", 2019).

After a feature film role in "Lindenberg! Mach dein Ding" (2020), in which he played the father of the title character and real-life musician Udo Lindenberg, he was part of the large ensemble of Matti Geschonneck's TV three-parter "Unterleuten - Das zerrissene Dorf" ("Unterleuten: The Torn Village", 2020). In the Sky-Streaming series "Hausen" (2020) he portayed a janitor who moves into a prefabricated concrete building with his young son, which is haunted by a demon. In the crime series "Polizeiruf 110", Hübner continued to play the investigator Alexander Buckow. 

In the road movie "Für immer Sommer 90" (2021), made during the Corona pandemic and largely improvised in its dialog, Hübner played an investment banker who is confronted with the accusation of a rape committed 30 years ago. Together with the two directors Lars Jessen and Jan Georg Schütte, he was awarded the Grimme Prize for this film. At the German Television Awards, "Für immer Sommer 90" received the prize for Best Television Film. In May 2021, Hübner's departure from the series "Polizeiruf 100" was announced. With "Keiner von uns," the 24th case of the duo Bukow and König, his career as detective chief inspector Bukow ended in early 2022.  

A major box-office success was "Rabiye Kurnaz vs. George W. Bush" (DE/FR 2022) about the Murat Kurnaz case, with Hübner as the prosecutor. In the same year, Hübner played the lead role in Lars Jessen's bestselling film adaptation "Mittagsstunde," about a man in his late forties who returns to his North Frisian home to care for his parents.

Hübner also played another key role in Thomas Stuber’s "Stille Trabanten" ("Dark Satellites", 2022), as a security guard who falls in love with a refugee from Eastern Europe. In David Schalko’s six-part TV series "Kafka" (2024), he portrayed the publisher Ernst Rowohlt, and in the comedy "Micha denkt groß" (2024), he played a self-made entrepreneur attempting to carry out an ambitious construction project in his hometown.

He also returned to directing: his road movie comedy "Sophia, der Tod und ich" ("Sophia, Death, and Me") premiered in August 2023, followed by his documentary "Element of Crime - Wenn es dunkel und kalt wird in Berlin" in September 2024, a film about the German rock band Element of Crime.