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36 Portrait
airberlin magazin 3 / 2015
Starkes „Tatort“-Team in Ludwigshafen:
Andreas Hoppe als Kommissar
Mario Kopper und Ulrike
Folkerts als Kommissarin Lena
Odenthal.
Strong “Tatort” team in
Ludwigshafen: Andreas Hoppe as
Inspector Mario Kopper and Ulrike
Folkerts as Inspector Lena Odenthal.
busy playing a neurotic New York Jew in the German
stage adaptation of Lily Brett’s “You Gotta Have Balls”
in Hamburg. The production has proved a massive hit,
earning praise and performing to sell-out audiences. “The
best thing about my profession its its versatility,” she
says. And Inspector Odenthal? Folkerts laughs. “Lena isn’t
my alter ego, but of course we’re close. We’ve grown old
together and the character has developed with me; she
has acquired a few sharp edges, just as I have.”
Ulrike Folkerts has the chance to play a completely
different type of person in the ZDF production “Das
goldene Ufer” (to be screened on 5 April at 8:15 pm). The
adaptation of the historical novel by Iny Lorentz is set
on an estate in 1825 (the pre-March era): Folkerts plays
the power-hungry Countess Elfreda von Rennitz, who is
not above slapping her maid in the face and ordering her
beating. “There’s a reason for Elfreda’s harshness,” says
the actress. “She fears for her livelihood: after all it’s the
period when servants are rebelling against their masters.
The ruling class is running scared.” The film’s stunning
visual opulence is reminiscent of “Downton Abbey”. It
was shot in a stately home near Prague – an amazing
experience for Ulrike Folkerts: “I always wanted to act in
a lavish costume drama. We actors were really immersed
in another world during the shoot.” Many scenes were
also filmed by candlelight, lending the production its
distinctive other-worldly atmosphere.
Ulrike Folkerts is self-confident and appears to know
exactly what she wants. But this hasn’t always been the
case. She was offered the role of Lena Odenthal at just
28 years of age. Quitting her theatre job in Oldenburg,
she decided on impulse to relocate to Berlin. But the
gulf between TV and real life was, as so often, a wide
one: “I was always on TV, thanks to the many repeats. But
initially I was only filming one ‘Tatort’ a year and had to
eke out my earnings with waitressing jobs.” Despite this,
she managed to win over the TV public – soon everybody
knew Lena Odenthal. “There hadn’t been anybody like
her before: a strong woman with short hair, jeans and
a leather jacket who was more than capable of beating
the men at their own game,” says the actress. “Later
on she became softer and more sympathetic. I actually
preferred her combative nature.” The tough police officer
eventually fell victim to burnout in the 25th anniversary
episode last October. “One corpse too many,” says Ulrike
Folkerts drily. “Well, that’s human nature. It was time that
Lena had a crisis in her life. I think it’s exciting.” The many
Odenthal fans are looking forward to finding out whether
the inspector manages to pick herself up again.
Life as a “lone wolf” is never easy. Ulrike Folkerts, on the
other hand, is a very social person who is highly committed
to various causes, especially the welfare of children: she’s
an ambassador for “burundikids” in Africa and founded
“kulturvoll e.V.”, a charity that gives young people from
socially deprived backgrounds the chance to get involved
in artistic and theatre projects, with 15 friends in 2006. Her
leisure time is important to her too: after the excitement of
a shoot or a performance she likes to recharge her batteries
at home, either on the sofa or on long walks in the woods
with her long-term partner, the artist Katharina Schnitzler.
The couple is openly lesbian: “The more matter-of-fact you
are about it, the more it’s accepted by others.” But Folkerts
is sometimes irked when her homosexuality is still raised
as an “issue” – even in her supposedly tolerant profession.
“Not every director wants a lesbian to play the lead role in a
love story. But if a heterosexual actor plays a gay man, he’s
praised for his courage!” she says with a grin. She would
also like to see more openness when it comes to awarding
parts to middle-aged women. “Many actresses struggle as
of the age of 40, and certainly from 50 onwards, as there
simply aren’t enough interesting roles. But these women
have so much experience, personality and ability to offer.”
Often spurned wives, mothers and grannies are the only
parts available. She knows how lucky she is to have such a
wide range of projects on the go.
Luck and happiness are subjects that Folkerts
has pondered over for some time. In 2008 she and
her partner published their book “Glück gefunden”
(“Happiness found”). What is her definition of happiness?
“Sometimes you can be high on happiness; at other times
it’s just a permanent feeling of contentment,” she says.
Ulrike Folkerts has found herself at the age of 53. Let’s
hope that Lena Odenthal can overcome her crisis and do
likewise… •
Photos: ZDF/Martin Spelda, SWR/Alexander Kluge