Dhe arms crossed in front of his chest: This is how Tom Wlaschiha welcomes the zoom interview – and the actor will stay in this position for most of the time. He is known for not commenting much on private matters. For the interview, he sits on a stool in a dark room. With imagination, it looks like he’s floating through space. Next to him hangs a poster of “Lightyear,” the new Disney-Pixar animated film he has dubbed: Astronaut Buzz Lightyear – a “space ranger” according to the film – explores alien planets.
You are now speaking to an astronaut who, in the end – that much should be revealed – saves the people. How do you pronounce a hero?
It’s best to speak a hero like a normal person. Because there are no real, flawless heroes. Then the question arises: What is a hero now?
Please answer them right away.
A hero is someone who proves himself in extraordinary situations and, despite resistance, achieves something that others cannot.
Is there anything at all to watch out for as a hero’s spokesperson? pathos and emotions?
Yes, a bit of everything, of course. What is important for every hero: that he has human traits. Otherwise you as a viewer cannot relate to him. Everything you mentioned is in Buzz Lightyear. There’s a lot of pathos because he always takes on more than he can handle. He always has the absolute plan and then has to realize that he too is dependent on help.
You once said that shining heroes are boring. Now vote for a Disney hero.
Buzz Lightyear is not a shining hero to me. He’s on a journey – and on this journey he realizes that certain things that he believes in do not work so well after all. That he needs help to achieve certain goals. That people he leaves behind on earth are closer to him than he initially wants to admit. That’s what I mean by my statement: There always have to be breaks and human traits anyway.
Chris Evans will voice the role in English. How do you approach such a role model?
Chris Evans does his part well, but hopefully I’m not speaking like Chris Evans 2.0, but like myself. Watching the film gives you a sense of the overall arc of the role and you try to do it justice. Speaking synchronously does not mean imitating something one hundred percent as far as possible, but rather imitating the role.
Among other things, “Lightyear” is about time – and the question of how and with whom you want to spend it. Do you ask yourself this question too?
Every reflective person thinks about it. And that our time here is finite is something that most people have in the back of their minds. You just have to draw the right conclusions for yourself from time to time and say: Now I’ll take my time and do the things that I really want to do. Sometimes you have to give in to boredom.
It’s not the first major American production you’ve been on. How do you assert yourself as a German in Hollywood?