Photography by David Muller
We had the awesome opportunity to speak with Christian about his upcoming projects. Check out his interview below.
Hi, Christian! Thank you for granting the interview. You have visited some pretty amazing places, such as Germany, England, France, New York, and now Los Angeles. Have your journeys enhanced your acting skills? Tell us more.
Hi, Occhi. First off, thank you for giving me the opportunity to be part of your magazine. I’m a big fan of your work and I’m very happy that we finally get to work together on this interview.
Traveling has always been a big part of my life. Somehow, I could never really settle in one place. Moving from place to place of course has its downsides, like not seeing your family and friends for long periods of time but overall I must say I wouldn’t be the same person if it wouldn’t be for all these adventures that I’ve been through in all the different places that I’ve lived so far.
One of the most valuable things that I got from it was the chance of getting to know so many different people around the world with their own unique cultures. Especially, as an actor, I think these type of experiences are of major importance in your development as an artist. It opens up your eyes in so many different ways and broadens your imagination and creativity. In my own experience, I felt like it enabled me to better understand people in general and become more sensitive toward their feelings and emotions. As a result, I can transfer all these experiences to my work as an actor and understand the characters that I work on in a more specific way. As actors, we often live other people’s lives and embrace their problems and beliefs. With that in mind, we have a big responsibility in representing all these characters and their cultures in the right way. Therefore, I think traveling had a big impact on my development as an actor.
You also have a Master’s Degree in Acting at the New York Film Academy. Why many actors pursue a bachelor’s degree, you took the next step. Any reason why?
Well, I obtained my bachelor’s degree in General Management back in Germany a few years ago. My plan was to get a good job right after my graduation to save up money to be able to pursue my acting career full time. And that’s exactly what happened. After two years, I had enough money to move to Los Angeles and I thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to further improve my acting skills, especially in front of the camera, since I’ve mostly done stage work before. That’s when I found out about New York Film Academy and their Master’s Program in acting. Overall, it was a great time studying there and it helped me a lot to become a better actor. They have amazing teachers who constantly work in the industry themselves and you get hands-on experience, which allows you to jump in on any professional set fully prepared. Even after graduating last year, I still feel a big sense of Alumni support from the school such as free Alumni classes. Having the opportunity to keep working on your craft is just amazing.
You have starred in several short films. Tell us about ’64 Koufax. What should the readers expect?
’64 Koufax is the first short film that I wrote and produced myself. The story is about two brothers, who after six years of not talking to each other, meet again at their father’s funeral. It shows both brothers trying to put the pieces of their broken relationship back together.
This project was a big challenge for me personally because, as I have mentioned above, I have never before starred in a film that I have produced and written myself. So it was a very interesting experience and I definitely learned a lot from it. It was great having all my favorite people on set working together to make this project happen and we are very proud of its current success at the film festivals around the world.
You’re also starring in Ariadne. You’re playing Icarus. Icarus is famous in Greek mythology.
Yes, I’m very proud to announce that we finally finished post-production on Ariadne and that it’ll be starting its festival run very soon.
Working on Ariadne was a great experience. I’ve always been fascinated by Greek mythology and its mesmerizing stories about love, family, and betrayal. When I first heard about this project, I immediately took the initiative and got in touch with writer and director of the film Adrian Rodriguez. I was fortunate enough that we both got along very well from the get-go. I remember that we had a long conversation about Greek mythology and how Adrian implemented parts of it into a contemporary world and created a beautiful story about love and possession. At the end of our conversation, Adrian let me read for the role of Icarus and liked my interpretation of him, the rest is history.
Is there a particular role you would like to play in your career?
Wow, that’s a tough question. I don’t think I have one specific role that I want to play. There are so many that I can think of right now that talking about all of them would require a whole book. I will say I love exploring new things, so as long as I get the chance to work on characters that I haven’t worked on yet, that would make me happy.
If you could play a superhero, who would you be, and why?
Superman. Yes, I just have to go with good old Superman. He’s always been the most intriguing superhero to me. He represents so many beliefs and morals that we people embody. Even though he is the hero of heroes and has so many incredible powers, he still struggles and has to deal with so many difficulties in life. One moment he is the beloved savior and the other he is despised by all humanity. I think that is a great reminder to all of us that no matter how successful and powerful we get in our lives, we will have to face the struggle at some point. Yet, Superman reminds us again that no matter how difficult our future looks, all we have to do is be true to our values, look up and know that we can be so much better. Playing a hero who delivers such a message sounds pretty amazing to me.
You continuously hone your craft. What keeps you inspired?
I just love it so much that the work itself inspires me on daily basis. There is something special about it and when I get to do it I feel happiness and a feeling of fulfillment. My parents always told me to find a job that allows me to wake up with a happy mindset. And that’s exactly how I feel every morning I get the chance to be on set. I mean, of course, that’s not exactly the job my parents had in mind for me but, hey, at least I found what they told me to look for, right?
Thus far, what has been the best experience working in the industry?
When I first decided to pursue my acting career full-time, a lot of people told me so many horrible stories about this industry. And now having worked here in the belly of the beast, Hollywood, for almost three years I actually have to say that it’s the overall good experiences that stuck in my mind. Of course, here and there you experience some not so good stuff, but you have to develop a thick skin and just let it bounce off of you. Having said that, one of the best experiences so far was meeting so many incredible and talented people that share the same passion for movies and theatre. And being able to always bring together these people to make magic happen is just something very unique and makes the bad things easy to forget.
Do you have any upcoming projects that we haven’t mentioned?
I’m currently working on two very promising projects. We are writing a feature script that we are planning to shoot in early 2019. It’s a very interesting concept and I can’t wait to give you guys more details about it by the end of this year.
The second project is a short film that we’re aiming to shoot in May. It’s a period piece about a relationship between a highly religious father and his son, a veteran who returns from war and now has a changed mindset toward his dad’s extreme religious beliefs. This film will be directed by Kobus Louw, who also directed ’64 Koufax. We will also have the whole crew of our previous project working with us again.
Complete this sentence, if I had an opportunity to do anything I want, I would do ___________.
The same thing that I’m doing right now. The only wish I have is to become more successful with what I’m doing, to be able to work on bigger projects that would give me the chance to learn from the very best. People that I’ve been looking up to for a long time. That’s what I’m striving for. And of course, in an industry like this one, it’s always of major importance to be able to make a living doing what you’re doing. So that’s, of course, another aspect of my wish that I can’t deny. But I’m very confident that everything will work out as long as you keep pushing and never let anyone take away your dreams.
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Featured Image Credit: David Muller.
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