Sandra Hüller: «Acting finally amuses me»

Sandra Hüller is one step away from entering the history of cinema. If the forecasts are confirmed on January 23rd, it will be the first to have double Oscar nominations for two non-English language films: best protagonist for the Frenchman Anatomy of a fallbest supporting role for the British The area of ​​interest. And she? Rigorous and essential, never too many words, she is not one to get upset. «This too shall passthis too shall pass” – confides to I Woman – is his mantra.

“Meet Toni Erdmann”

The German actress had already demonstrated that nonchalance is not a pose. Just finished the Golden Globe gala, in 2017 (she was nominated for Meet Toni Erdmann), took the first plane to Germany: she had the exam to become a forklift operator, she needed the license for the role in A waltz among the shelves by Thomas Stuber.

And no drunkenness this year after either Cannes Film FestivalWhere Anatomy of a fall won the Palme d’Or and The area of ​​interest the Special Jury Grand Prize: it had never happened that the winners of the top prizes had an interpreter in common

Sandra Hüller: «I love theatre»

«I immediately resumed the tour with Hamletthen move on to The exterminating angeland, a piece that revisits Luis Buñuel’s film, and other small productions. I love theatre, I grew up there, it represented my education and, above all, it is the place where I can easily “explore” without too much pressure. I should never have to undergo so many international interviews for one show » she says sincerely.

And not very diplomatic: in this she resembles the successful writer by Anatomy of a fallaccused of killing her husband, frustrated aspiring writer. A legal thriller on the surface (two-thirds of it takes place in the courtroom), in reality the “deconstruction” of a couple Scenes from a wedding by Igmar Bergman. Gorgeous.

Couple balance

«I wrote it with her in mind and I called the protagonist Sandra, even though I didn’t know if she would accept» revealed the director, Justine Triet.
I admire the clarity, the ability to argue of this Sandra who however is not me, too much more emotional. And I have the utmost respect for her ability to tell the truth, unapologetically for the things she thinks are right even though they seem harsh and even though being too true to herself could cost you a marriage. This courage is something that I sometimes lack.

The need to find a new balance in couple relationships is a strong theme of the film.
Living together is still confusing, but for centuries – or, at least, for decades – there have been rules that have worked. Not anymore: it’s time to find a freer, more trusting, more equal way of relating. As? Perhaps by becoming aware of our fears, allowing ourselves to express our desires and pursue them, without shielding ourselves behind alibis or blaming our partner…

How did you work on the character?
I inevitably bring myself, my history, my experiences with me. I have no better “material” to use, other than observing – obviously – how they move, how they express themselves, how others behave… I look for points of contact and someone, even if minimal, is always there. I studied at a dramatic art theater school, I learned to use my body and my voice and, at the same time, my soul. Or no, the secret is sometimes a lack of personality… (long pause) Of course, I only know that I don’t worry about how to present my face so that it looks beautiful, I haven’t followed any course of this kind: it would distract me from what I want to express.

The banality of evil

In the case of Area of ​​interest what was the trigger?
Oh no, no one (jump on)! I know, I contradict myself, but zero identification with Hedwig Höss (wife of Rudolf Höss, commandant of the Auschwitz concentration camp, ed).

Maybe the fact that she is a strong woman, her husband fears her more than the Nazi leaders.
But no, she is a very weak woman (grimace of contempt).

Yet the director, Jonathan Glazer, said that he had never had any other actress in mind, that the film (inspired by the novel of the same name by Martin Amis) was not even imaginable without her.
I made my body available to him, an empty shell, nothing more. I was very hesitant to accept: some filming was scheduled in Auschwitz and, as a German, it was challenging to deal with the history of my country, my people and, perhaps, part of my family. I had already turned down similar parts.

And what ultimately convinced you?
The new approach: just observe, don’t arouse emotions.

The banality of evil: in the film there is a picture of a happy family with a villa, it’s a shame that beyond the high wall there were crematoria…
I was there, but without involvement.

“Warning signs”

What does acting ultimately mean to you?
That’s really the big question (for once, laughs out loud). There have been changes over the years. When I was young, when I started, I was trying to understand what was happening to me, who I was. I tried to understand my family: if you grow up in a small town…

I interrupt her: “A disgusting place”, as she says in Anatomy of a fall?
No no no no no, it wasn’t crap! Absolutely. It was a very nice place (the daughter of two educators, she grew up in Friedrichroda, Thuringia, in what was then East Germany, ed), the point is that it didn’t offer much opportunity to discover yourself. This is why I was happy when my German teacher – I was 14 years old – involved me in the acting class. I really enjoyed embodying other people, wondering about the reasons for their attitudes. Here, the curiosity to understand how human beings “work” was a powerful driving force.

Were there no “warning signs” regarding your vocation before adolescence?
I watched TV a lot as a child (there was only one cinema in our house), I loved being in different worlds. I judged the actors, even if I knew nothing about technique: those who “betrayed” me aroused a strong reaction, those who didn’t cry real tears, who didn’t feel the various emotions in depth. I got so angry that, sometimes, I “replicated” some scenes that I liked to find out how I would have done them… But I never thought it was acting, it was more a way to vent that tangle of emotions I had inside. So, I guess it was a good career choice (smiles).

He combined business with pleasure.
Mhmmm, delightful… I was tense, I wanted to be good, serious. That changed a little when I met Johan Simons (whom she was directed in Hamlet, ed), a wonderful theater director who allows his actors to do anything on stage. And this does not mean that chaos is generated, on the contrary: paradoxically a “formal” situation is created when one is allowed to think about everything that is happening in that moment, whether it is someone in the audience laughing, or the scene partner’s perfume. Suddenly, acting became fun.

When will this turning point?
Around forty years old. Recently.

“An emotional journey”

According to Simons, however, every performance for her is an “emotional and physical journey”, so much so that she doesn’t leave the stage even at the interval so as not to lose concentration.
(just nods)

In your free time how do you relax after similar full immersion creative?
I love doing nothing, unfortunately it’s not possible because I have to run the house, I have a family, a 12 year old daughter: I have to take care of everything, even putting the car in the garage. And I like sports, riding horses, learning new things – be they pieces of music or foreign languages ​​– to challenge my brain.

He’s at home on German, English and French sets – good training.
And I know Russian, I studied it at school.

Not Italian?
I also studied Italian: for five-six years I spent my holidays in the same place, in Umbria, near Gubbio. I have friends who live there.

He loves challenges, he said.
From time to time, not continuously. They make me grow and I believe that, ultimately, this is what we are here for: to constantly grow, evolve.

Are you talking about the meaning of life?
Yes (shrugs).

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