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Actor MICHAEL GREILING has lived with his family for the last ten
years in the Prenzlauer Berg area. Although well known for his roles in
film and on TV, acting wasn’t originally his first choice of career. Speaking
with him in Berlin’s beautiful Prater Gardens, he tells us why.
Mr. Greiling, it was your idea to meet here at the Prater, a Berlin
beer garden. Tell us honestly, as a native of Munich, were you
feeling a little homesick? No, I don’t think so, but anyway a beer
garden here is completely different to a Bavarian beer garden. The
reason I chose this place was more because I like the old buildings
here. Generally speaking, I’m not a great fan of beer gardens. Although
I was born in Munich, I’ve lived in lots of different places in
Germany, so much so, that now I don’t really have roots in Bavaria
any more. I am home anywhere and nowhere, but I like it best
here in Berlin.
For how long have you been living in Berlin and what do you think
of the city? Almost ten years. For me, it is the eastern part of the
city that gives it its charm. That’s where the action is. Ten years ago
new bars were opening up all over the place, the people had a sense
of a new beginning, they improvised; fires were burning in barrels
behind the Tacheles Arthouse on Oranienburger Strasse. It was all
very anarchic. There’s so much to discover in Berlin - it’s somehow
like several cities rolled into one. The city is ideal if you have children
- it’s like a gigantic playground. The outdoor cafés, everything
is so relaxed. People sit out on the pavement in their armchairs or
watch television outdoors. I like that.
You are a popular actor, appearing in numerous films and television
productions. Tell us about the project you‘re working on
at the moment. The latest one is a new series developed for ARD,
and we are hoping for a positive response from viewers. It will be
shown on Monday evenings and for the moment, it’s called »Die
Detektivin«. There is a female lead and a male lead. My colleague,
Marion Kracht, plays the title role of the female detective in the series
and I fill the role of her colleague. It’s a very nice role because
my character is a bit of a failure, somebody who doesn’t really take
his job very seriously and is more interested in women. In contrast,
INTERVIEW Katja Mollenhauer FOTO Subuddha
the female detective is very serious. She has more »punch«, so they
complement each other very well. Through her, he learns how to
deal with women. My character is also very funny.
Your eldest daughter is also an actor. Did you support her in her
choice of profession or did you advise her against it? I didn’t
push her into it. I could see from the beginning that she was extremely
talented and that’s why I didn’t even try to talk her out of
it. I never said to her, you have to do this or do that, or used my
influence to help her. Nothing like that, because it’s important that
she develops her own talents in order to achieve in the industry.
Acting is a tough profession. It is always the person as a whole who
is criticised. People say »she’s stupid« or »he’s great« and you have
to learn to deal with this. In addition there are not enough good
roles, and as a result, anybody who wants to be an actor has to be
tough enough; they have to really want it and not give up. My
daughter’s like that.
With regard to too little work for actors ... you didn’t always want
to be an actor, did you? That’s right. I actually wanted to study
medicine but I couldn’t get a place at university so I went to acting
school instead. I liked it so much that I decided to become an actor.
Nine years later, though, I had an identity crisis. I thought everything
was so egoistical in the theatre, so I started to study medicine
after all. I found the mind the most interesting part. With surgery
or internal medicine, once you’ve grasped the facts, the mystery is
solved. But the mind is different. There are so many imponderables
to be discovered. I went on to train as a psychotherapist, where I
learned an interesting form of therapy: psychodrama. I am particularly
interested in the work of actors in the sense of coaching. I often
notice that many of my colleagues are their own worst enemies, in
terms of developing their potential – and there is so much one can
do. But I don’t have much time for it at the moment.
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