Berlin: Daniel Brühl on Playing a 'Vain, Mean' Version of Himself in His Directorial Debut

  • 📰 THR
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 81 sec. here
  • 3 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 36%
  • Publisher: 53%

United States Headlines News

United States Latest News,United States Headlines

Daniel Brühl on mocking his own image in his directorial debut 'Next Door,' which premiered in competition at the 2021 Berlin Film Festival.

In the dark comedy, which premieres in competition at the 2021 Berlin International Film Festival, and which Beta Film is selling at this year's European Film Market, Brühl plays a German-Spanish actor named Daniel. Daniel, like Brühl, lives in a luxury rooftop apartment in a hip quarter of East Berlin. Daniel, like Brühl, is famous for roles in big international productions.

Another uncomfortable, but funny, real-life situation I put in the film happened to me in Barcelona. A Swedish couple came straight towards me, with their phone out. They looked very German — both blond — and I thought:"OK, I know what's coming." So the first thing I do is take the phone and put my arm around the woman. But they didn't know who I was! They were from Stockholm! The man thought:"who is.

desperate attempts — always speaking extra loud in Spanish, to make it clear to people: 'I'm one of you.' Then I was sitting in a restaurant and a construction worker was glaring at me. I felt immediately: he hates me because he's seen through me. Me sitting there with my travel suitcase, talking too loud to the waitress about FC Barcelona, but I'm not really from here.

From the start, the film was going to be about gentrification, about someone who feels like an invader. And then a confrontation between two men who couldn't be more different. Who come from completely different social backgrounds. I imagined it as a duel, like in a Western, taking place in a bar. It was clear from the beginning that I would play the victim, so to speak.

I couldn't get the film made in Spain and I couldn't write it. I can't write. Years later I joined a production company [Amusement Park Films] and we got a deal with Warner Bros. in Germany and they offered to make my directorial debut. I was asked if I had any ideas. And I thought about the story and about shifting it to Berlin, to the neighborhood where I actually live.

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.
We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 411. in US

United States Latest News, United States Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.