Lars Eidinger was born in 1975 or 1976[1] to an engineer and a nurse, and grew up with his older brother in West Berlin's Marienfelde district.

[2] He is a graduate of the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts, where he studied alongside Fritzi Haberlandt, Nina Hoss,[3] Devid Striesow, and Mark Waschke.

He became a salaried member of the Schaubühne ensemble in 1999 in Berlin,[5][1] with leading roles in Thomas Ostermeier productions such as Hamlet and Richard III.

[7] Since then he has acted in many international productions, including Tim Burton's Dumbo (2019); Claire Denis's sci-fi horror film High Life; and the 2020 Swiss drama film My Little Sister as a famous actor suffering from cancer, opposite Nina Hoss.

[11][5] In the early 2000s, when DJing at parties, he got a reputation for revealing his buttocks, in a gesture he said he got from the punk scene, which is "meant less as an affront and more as an expression of freedom, anarchy, and cockiness".

[12] In February 2016, Eidinger was a member of the jury for the main competition section of the 66th Berlin International Film Festival, chaired by Meryl Streep.

[14][15] He enjoys doing photography, also directs plays, including an adaptation of Peer Gynt co-created with German artist John Bock.