After a stroke of fate, Juliane Hansen starts a new life in the novel adaptation “Laufen” (April 24, 8:15 p.m., ZDF). The woman who has to deal with the suicide of her partner Johann König (Maximilian Brückner, 44) is embodied by actress Anna Schudt (49).
“I dealt with the condition, but I was mainly concerned with how to get out of it,” says Schudt in an interview with the broadcaster about preparing for the bewilderment and helplessness of her role. The actress explains why Juliane Hansen started running of all things: “Running is the metaphor for everything having to start moving again. Both the inside and the outside.”
Not only in terms of content, but also physically, the Emmy award winner (“a cold would have been enough”) had to prepare for this role. That meant a lot of walking. Apparently, it was not particularly difficult for the Konstanz native. “I have to move. If I don’t move, then I get really miserable. I used to run occasionally and then I ran every day in preparation, and that has given me and my nervous system, my psyche, so enormous things that I couldn’t let it go,” she says. She still runs “three to four times a week” and that makes her “happy,” Schudt continues.
She is also full of praise for working with her colleagues such as Brückner, Katharina Wackernagel (44) and Gaby Dohm (79) on this difficult-to-digest material: “Well, that was exceptionally nice. In general, this work was a stroke of luck actually everything fit and everyone was immensely infected with this topic and tried to show respect and attention to it and wore it as best they could. So I think we all pulled together and everyone in their function, and that was wonderful,” she enthuses.
In the film, Anna Schudt not only walks healthy distances, she also plays the cello. And she didn’t just learn that for the filming. She said she played the cello as a child, “intensively until I was 16”. Then she moved out, devoted herself to acting and no longer had any desire or time for the instrument, “other things were important”. After a short revival, she finally put it in the corner at the age of 23… but then “running” came along.
“In the book it’s a violist, then I said, okay, I played the cello once, let’s change that, that wasn’t a thing. And then, because I had so much time to prepare, I got a new one right away Bought a cello, looked for a cello teacher and practiced three hours a day,” says Schudt, adding: “Of course I was curious what kind of concert it would be at the end, my ambition was that it wouldn’t be doubled.” She did that.
Help with depression and suicidal thoughts is available from the telephone counseling service on the free number: 0800/111 0 111
