december-2012

P E O P L E
glücklichen Zufall bin ich schon sehr früh
in europäische und internationale Projekte
hineingekommen. Ich war auch
immer sehr dankbar dafür. Man kann so
in den unterschiedlichsten Facetten und
Mentalitäten arbeiten. Wenn man mit Italienern
einen Film dreht, haben die ein
ganz anderes Temperament als Deutsche.
Die Abläufe sind eigentlich immer
gleich, aber man lernt sehr viel im
Zwischenmenschlichen.
Sie kommen durch Ihr internationales
Arbeiten ziemlich viel rum. Haben Sie
ein liebstes Reiseziel in Europa, und
wenn ja, welches?
► Ein Lieblingsreiseziel habe ich nicht.
Als Schauspieler gelange ich in unglaublich
viele Gegenden und Ecken und oft
lerne ich dabei auch Orte aus der Perspektive
der Einheimischen kennen, was
mir sehr viel bedeutet.
FROM ONE
DIRECTOR TO
ANOTHER
In his home country, German
actor Ken Duken is best known for
his roles in Til Schweiger’s
Zweiohrküken and Quentin
Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds.
For the three-part TV miniseries
Das Adlon, about the iconic hotel
near the Brandenburg Gate, Duken
worked with director Uli Edel, who
won international acclaim for his
2008 fi lm The Baader Meinhof
Complex. A budding director
himself, Duken jumped at the
opportunity to work with Edel.
You play Julian Zimmerman in
the ZDF series Das Adlon. What
initially attracted you to the role?
► Period and contemporary fi lms often
deal with very specifi c eras, but this fi lm
almost spans a hundred years of German
history. That’s quite exciting for an actor,
especially dealing with the process of
26—GW
Ken Duken und Josefi ne
Preuß sind im Januar im
ZDF-Film Das Adlon zu sehen
Ken Duken and Josefi ne
Preuß in Das Adlon
« Oft lerne ich beim Drehen Orte aus der
Perspektive der Einheimischen kennen,
was mir sehr viel bedeutet »
ageing. The fi lm takes you back in time
and then virtually up to the present day. I
really enjoyed that.
Actress and fellow Das Adlon cast
member Christiane Paul has said
that series like Downton Abbey
have made period dramas
fashionable. Why do you think
these kinds of programmes are so
popular right now?
► I don’t think it’s about them being in
fashion. Period dramas from the past 50
years – well-made ones, at least – are
timeless and there’s still demand for them
in DVD rental shops. They’ve always
interested me and are also the reason why
I became an actor. Once you’ve gained a
certain amount of distance from the past,
you can approach sensitive topics again
and show people something without
pointing the fi nger.
You’ve worked with a lot of pretty
famous directors over the course of
your career. What’s the difference
between working with someone
like Quentin Tarantino and Til
Schweiger, or with Uli Edel as
director on Das Adlon?
► Every director is different. You can
learn a lot from all the directors you work
with. What I like about Uli is the fact that
he responds to all of my ideas. Instead of
just accepting or rejecting my
suggestions, he takes them on board
and develops them.
You work with lots of directors but
you’re also a director yourself...
► So far it’s only been small-scale
productions but I would love to do more. I
see the music videos that I’ve worked on
so far as a way to practise my craft.
How did you end up directing a
music video for Marius Müller-
Westernhagen?
► I directed a video for Curse, which
Marius appeared in. He saw the video and
liked my work. He played me his song and
asked if I had any ideas.
You work in various different
languages. Why?
► I’ve worked in French, Italian,
Norwegian, English and German. I like
good stories basically, and I had the good
fortune to get involved in various European
and international projects. I was always
very grateful for these. You can work in
different ways and with the most diverse
mentalities. When you shoot a fi lm in Italy,
they have a completely different
temperament to the Germans. The
process of fi lmmaking is always the same,
but you always learn something new about
working with people.
Your job takes you all over the
world. Do you have a favourite
destination in Europe and if so
where is it?
► I don’t have a favourite destination. I
love being abroad, but because I’ve
recently worked in other countries so
much, I don’t get very enthusiastic when I
see a suitcase or a have to call a cab to
take me to the airport. Berlin is currently Kulbach
where I feel most at home. My job takes
me to an astounding number of different
places and I often learn to see them
ZDF/Stephanie
through the eyes of the locals, and that
means a lot to me. Foto: