Florian Bartholomäi, born January 10, 1987, in Frankfurt am Main, made his stage debut already as a young teenager as an extra at Frankfurt Opera House. In 2003, the autodidact applied for the casting of a role in the youth drama "Kombat Sechzehn" ("Combat Sixteen", 2005) – and promptly got the role of a 16-year old who after moving to East Germany is on the brink to hook up with the extreme right-wing scene. Bartholomäi"s performance was praised by many critics. It also won him the "Undine Award 2005" for "Best Movie Debut".

Subsequently, Bartholomäi was seen in TV series like "Ein Fall für zwei", "Tatort" or "SOKO Leipzig". He won the German TV award as "Best supporting actor" for his performance in the episode "Schattenkind" of the TV crime film series "Bloch". His second leading role in a movie followed in "Reine Geschmacksache" ("Fashion Victims", 2006/2007). In Ingo Rasper"s comedy, Bartholomäi, alongside Edgar Selge, plays an 18-year old who is coming out of the closet. The film premiered at the 2007 Film Festival Max Ophuels Preis where Bartholomäi also won the award for "Best Young Actor" for his performance.

Furthermore, Bartholomäi returned to the movie screen in 2008/2009: He played a supporting role in the Hollywood production "Der Vorleser" ("The Reader") and starred in a leading role in the drama "Weltstadt" ("City of the World"). Based on a real case, he plays a teenager in the film who together with a friend murders a homeless person.