Maria Weiss
Film Actress specialising in Period Drama & Historical Roles
Multilingual. Mezzo-soprano. European & International productions.
Historically grounded character work shaped by rigorous research and embodied presence.
Music &
Dramatic Precision
Classically trained mezzo-soprano bringing the precision and depth of historically informed vocal performance practice into her screen work.
International Versatility
Fluent in German, English, French, Italian and Spanish.
Maria Weiss is an Austrian film actress and classically trained mezzo-soprano specialising in period drama, arthouse cinema and complex female protagonists of past centuries.
Her work is rooted in intellectual curiosity and rigorous character research. She is particularly drawn to women shaped by historical transition, moral conflict and inner resilience — roles that demand psychological depth, physical precision and emotional truth.
(About)
Trained in Method Acting at the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute in New York, she brings a physically embodied and emotionally truthful approach to her performances. Her academic background in Cultural Studies at the Sorbonne University in Paris informs her historically sensitive reading of text, context and character. She was mentored over many years by Glenys Linos (Royal Academy of Music, London).
She brings the discipline of classical music and the instinct of screen acting into a singular artistic language. Educated at the Conservatorio Luigi Cherubini in Florence and the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz (BA), Maria Weiss integrates her expertise in early and Baroque vocal performance practice directly into her screen work.
Recent projects include The Blood Countess (dir. Ulrike Ottinger, Berlinale 2026), where she appears on screen as a singer and conductor, and the music film Drei Tage mit Schubert, in which she performs the dual role of The Miller’s Daughter / Luise Hensel. In Untitled (Glawogger/Willi), she contributes as the solo voice of the film score (composer: Wolfgang Mitterer).
Internationally recognised for her expressive intensity, she has been described as “a gifted singer-actress” (Kritisches Journal für Alte Musik) whose “continued suspense of stage presence is breathtaking.”
Fluent in German, English, French, Italian and Spanish, she works across European and international productions.
Selected work.
The Blood Countess (2026)
Role: Singer & Conductor
Director: Ulrike Ottinger
Drei Tage mit Schubert (2026)
Role: The Miller’s Daughter • Luise Hensel, Director: Astrid Bscher
Der große Knall (2024/25)
Role: Karoline von Perin Gradenstein
Director: Christian Papke
La Tortorella (2025)
Role: Countess
Director: Maria Weiss
Untitled (2017)
Role: Singer / Mezzosoprano, Director: Michael Glawogger, Monika Willi
Die verstelle Gärtnerin
W. A. Mozart / Role: Don Ramiro
Regie: Seollyeon Konwitschny-Lee
Mail: hello(a)mariaweiss.at