Kathy Bates in an interview about her work with Franka Potente

by time news

Ms. Bates, did you know Franka Potente before she offered you a role in her directorial debut “Home”?

Not personally. But I was thoroughly familiar with her work as an actress. I saw “Run Lola Run” many years ago, and then also her first American film “Blow”. When we met, I immediately liked her, so I wanted to work with her.

Weren’t you irritated by the fact that a German directorial debutante wanted to tell a story of all things about life in the American provinces?

Of course that surprised me. At the same time, however, there is a tradition of European directors who focus on the USA. My very first film in 1971 was “Taking Off” by Miloš Forman, who had just come to America from Czechoslovakia at the time. I found it remarkable what he had to say about drugs, rock’n’roll and the whole hippie culture and how precisely he captured the abysses in our society or the atmosphere in New York. It was the same with Franka. I couldn’t really see a connection between her and her subject. But still a surprising amount of truthfulness.

The fact that Potente is an actress himself was certainly noticeable in the work, right?

In fact, it made me feel particularly well taken care of in her hands. Because I knew the quality of her own work in front of the camera, I trusted her completely. Apart from that, I was in her position myself when I was also working as a director for a while.

Why did you actually stop doing it again?

Not because I didn’t enjoy it. On the contrary. I had directed a couple of TV films and episodes from series like Six Feet Under, which I really enjoyed. But basically I was just at the beginning of my directing career. Then in 2003 I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, which for a start pulled the rug out from under my feet. It took me a while to get the chemo over and over again. After the break, I needed money, and as a very inexperienced director, I couldn’t have made anywhere near what I got as an actress. So I concentrated on working in front of the camera again.

In “Home” you play a woman who is terminally ill with cancer. Isn’t such a role too close to you in view of your personal experiences?

No, actually not at all. To put it bluntly, every second role I am offered is actually someone’s mother with cancer. It’s pretty common for me now and I take a pragmatic view of it. I don’t associate that with myself, although I also had breast cancer in 2012. I don’t want to think about these experiences when I’m working, and luckily I seem quite good at keeping that away from me.

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