DELUXE PEOPLE 42 DELUXE
The collarless shirt, the leather necklace <strong>and</strong> the beard – Jochen Horst has always remained true to himself as one of the least pretentious members of his profession. As an actor he has an impressive CV with a plethora of roles in German television <strong>and</strong> films. From the German TV series ‘Balko’, ‘Derrick’, ‘Der Alte’ <strong>and</strong> ‘Tatort’ to ‘Das Traumschiff’ <strong>and</strong> film adaptations of Rosamunde Pilcher novels, through to ‘Luther’ <strong>and</strong> ‘Nero’, his career reads almost like a compendium of German film. But Horst, who was born in 1961 <strong>and</strong> appeared alongside Burt Lancaster in 1990 in ‘Voyage of Terror: The Achille Lauro Affair’, has always remained true to his classical roots. He is an actor of the old school, if you like, having trained at the University of Music <strong>and</strong> Performing Arts Graz <strong>and</strong> the Lee Strasberg Institute in London. In 1986 he was awarded the O. E. Hesse Prize for ‘Best Newcomer of the Year’ <strong>and</strong> ten years later he received the Adolf Grimme Prize for ‘Balko’. Married for a second time, Horst now lives in Mallorca. He spoke to DELUXE about guilt <strong>and</strong> fate, <strong>and</strong> discussed the prospects for German actors in Hollywood. Herr Horst, in December you were filming in Germany, in the Erzgebirge... I was in a little-known town called Wolkenstein, where they celebrate Christmas in a very special way. I was filming a family drama alongside Katharina Böhm, who plays a woman whose sister causes problems when she returns to Wolkenstein. You became famous through your role of Inspector Balko. That was a long time ago. Nevertheless, crime stories run through your professional life. It’s not necessarily my favourite genre. But what does interest me about the characters is the question of guilt. How much guilt can one person take? That is what interests me, regardless of whether I am playing the police inspector or the murderer, whether it is a murder mystery or not. That sounds like Greek tragedy... The question of guilt affects us all; we all carry around with us the potential for guilt. But I think that the people who are successful in life are those who can distinguish between genuine <strong>and</strong> imposed guilt. There is also the theme of creating guilt complexes in others. You appeared in the movie ‘Luther’. It was real drama <strong>and</strong> a great subject matter for German cinema. What is the difference between filming for television <strong>and</strong> for the big screen? The difference between a film set <strong>and</strong> television is firstly that in television productions you have five or six people involved in the filming – the director, producers, etc. Many more interests are represented there. With a movie like ‘Luther’, you have only one director, who has DELUXE PEOPLE “I’M INTERESTED IN THE QUESTION OF GUILT” JOCHEN HORST, THE GERMAN TELEVISION AND FILM ACTOR WHO LIVES IN MALLORCA, ON EARLY EVENING CRIME DRAMAS, ‘LUTHER’, AND THE CREDIBILITY OF US CINEMA much more freedom to be creative. Can great drama only be found in the cinema? You must make a distinction between international films <strong>and</strong> German cinema. German cinema is good in parts. Film makers such as Bully Herbig <strong>and</strong> Till Schwaiger make very good, well structured films. In American movies the story-telling is now completely different, <strong>and</strong> in their TV series too, so much has changed. The characters have tremendous credibility. I would argue that an American cop is more convincing than a police officer in the German series ‘Tatort’. Do you have ambitions to go to Hollywood yourself? No, none at all. And by the way, it is not somewhere that you get into just by going to castings. German actors who have gained a foothold in the USA have mostly got married out there. You need a green card to work in the United States. And roles are not necessarily awarded internationally. Like many of your colleagues you live in Mallorca <strong>and</strong> have been here for seven years. What draws people in the German film industry to the Isl<strong>and</strong>? I can only speak for myself. I like to be by the sea, I like to be warm. Luxury, big cars <strong>and</strong> so on are really not that important to me. Fortunately, I can combine my work with living in Mallorca. Maybe some things would be easier if I lived in Düsseldorf or Munich. In Germany, people are sometimes a little envious when you live here in Mallorca; it has something to do with our mentality. But I like the Isl<strong>and</strong>. TEXT: Now, phoTos: JürgEN Magg DELUXE 43