2024-07-17 14:32:56
He has often been the perpetrator in the ARD “Tatort”, but now he is talking about a completely different kind of victim role. Florian Bartholomäi sees many film stars in trouble.
Are many German actors increasingly on the verge of financial hardship? “Tatort” villain Florian Bartholomäi makes this observation – especially in the capital. “I came to Berlin almost 20 years ago. There were empty properties, cheap rents and I thought: ‘Okay, great. Acting is a tough job anyway. You just go from project to project and in Berlin it somehow works out’,” says the 37-year-old in an interview with the German Press Agency.
“It has now become so expensive in Berlin that actors no longer have the freedom to turn down projects they don’t see themselves in. I think this freedom is slowly disappearing,” explains Bartholomäi. “The production companies are also suffering. All costs have gone up significantly. But the broadcasters or sponsors are not necessarily giving more budget. Filming is incredibly expensive and there are now many filming projects that have to take place abroad.”
It would be important to increase budgets, says the actor. “But the cultural sector is often the first to make cuts when savings have to be made. That’s a real shame.” Because that is precisely where social or political issues can be portrayed in social contexts. “Be it family dramas, be it refugee stories, etc. Perspectives can be illuminated in a different way and that can be discussed further.”
Bartholomäi’s observation: “The whole industry is currently in a bit of a gloomy mood. You hear that from a lot of people.” According to Bartholomäi, visual effects people, sound designers, actors and cameramen “all confirm that not much is being produced at the moment. If that continues for too long, good people may eventually quit. After 25 years, they say: ‘No, I don’t want to do this job anymore. I can’t build up any security here.'” And then you lose “really great crew members,” says the actor.
But Bartholomäi doesn’t seem to want to give up hope completely. He is confident that better times will come. “At some point, more filming will take place again. I’m sure of that. Good stories and films that touch people are always in demand.”
Bartholomäi is best known to TV audiences as a villain from the Sunday crime series. He appeared in 14 “Tatort” crime series alone – and was the perpetrator nine times. His last appearance in the ARD series was in the film “Monster”, which was first broadcast on ARD on February 2, 2020. The 16th case of the WDR investigators Faber and Bönisch is based on the events of the episode “Forever Yours”, in which Bartholomäi played the murderer as Markus Graf and was convicted. In the episode “Tallwus” he managed to escape. Since then he has been hunted by Inspector Faber.