Matthias Schoenaerts has reportedly been sentenced to six months in prison after being convicted of driving without a licence.
The 47-year-old Red Sparrow actor has been sentenced to six months in prison, a €4,000 (£3,520) fine and a one-year driving ban for driving without a valid licence.
The sentence was decided by a police court in Beringen, Belgium, over a year and a half after the offence occurred.
It was reported by Belgian outlet VRT News that the actor was stopped on his motorcycle in Pelt on April 5 and 21, 2024, without a valid driver’s licence on both occasions.
This comes after the actor was banned from driving in September 2021 after driving under the influence of cocaine.
It was reported that he was required to take mandatory recovery tests and exams to gain back his licence (medical, psychological, theoretical, and practical), but he had not yet done so.
This meant that when he was pulled over on April 5, he didn’t have a license and claimed he was unaware the ban applied to motorcycles.
Police let him off with a warning, but he was stopped again on April 21, again without a licence.
On December 1, 2025, Schoenaerts failed to appear in court in Beringen and was sentenced in absentia to six months in prison, along with fines and bans.
Schoenaerts has previously been convicted 11 times in the police court for various driving issues.
In 2007, he was convicted after a drunk driving accident involving a hit-and-run a year earlier. At the time, he was given a three-month driving ban, a €2,750 (£2,420) fine, and had to retake several driving tests.
Court spokesperson Luc De Cleir explained that the numerous convictions against him could have been ‘aggravating factors’ in his case.
‘The fact that the defendant has already been convicted 11 times and that he was arrested again within three years of his conviction in 2021 are aggravating factors,’ they said.
‘You could argue that the measures in the past didn’t seem to have any effect,’ De Cleir added. ‘Because neither the defendant nor his lawyer appeared in court, the judge could not take note of any intentions or sense of guilt.’
Schoenaerts’ lawyer, Axel De Schampheleire,claimed that the summons was missed, and they will be appealing his sentence.
‘It was probably sent, but he didn’t see it arrive, possibly because he was abroad.’
Schoenaerts is set to play Krem in the new film, Supergirl, set to be released in June 2026.
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web
browser that
supports HTML5
video
The film will star Milly Alcock as Kara Zor-El / Supergirl, who made her first appearance in the universe in this summer’s blockbuster superhero film, Superman.
Schoenaerts is best known for playing Gabriel Oak in Far from the Madding Crowd in 2015, Hans Axgil in The Danish Girl in 2015, and Uncle Vanya in Red Sparrow in 2018.
The Belgian actor also appeared opposite Kate Winslet in the TV series The Regime and in the 2023 series Django.
Metro has reached out to Matthias Schoenaerts’ representatives for comment.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.