Ulrich Matthes was born in Berlin. He studied acting in the early 1980's in Berlin under Else Bongers. Ulrich Matthes studied German and English, because he really wanted to become a teacher, so he also took private acting lessons during his studies. His first engagement brought him to the Vereinigte Bühnen in Krefeld, where he played the title role in "Prinz Friedrich von Homburg". Later he came to Düsseldorf Schauspielhaus, the Bavarian State Theatre, the Munich Studio Theater and the Schaubühne place. Since the 2004/2005 season, he is member of the ensemble at Deutsches Theater in Berlin. In the 2004 movieThe Ninth Day, he plays Fr. Henri Kremer, a Catholic priest imprisoned at Dachau.

In 2005 he was voted "Actor of the Year" by 'Theater heute' magazine for his performance in Edward Albees' "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?".