Going through life with more ease and less pressure: Susan Sideropoulos (42) would like to recommend this to others with her new book “Taking life difficult is simply too exhausting” (Gräfe und Unzer, available from April 3rd). The “GZSZ” actress herself suffered from a life crisis a few years ago when the failure of her series “Mila” “broke her heart”, she recalls the difficult time in an interview with the news agency spot on news. “I had to learn that you can’t control life,” she continues. In addition, the author and mother of two reveals why many have a wrong image of optimism, what she absolutely recommends to her two sons and how she feels about her renewed “GZSZ” farewell.
Susan Sideropoulos: I’m doing very well. It’s very turbulent right now. A lot at once, both professionally and privately. Yesterday was my son’s birthday and he turned 13, we celebrated a bit here with the family, but we still have the big party ahead of us, that’s the bar mitzvah for us, the Jewish confirmation, which we celebrate very big becomes.
Sideropoulos: The basis was of course laid in the first book “Rosarotes Glück” (2021), which marked the beginning of my personal development and also dealt with my personal crisis. The book was more biographical and served the change of perspective that I made. That was very well received. I quickly felt like writing another book, but didn’t really know what to do. I then thought I needed a practical book that picks people up where they really are in their everyday worries.
Sideropoulos: My crisis was a professional one. My series “Mila”, which I shot, was a big heart project of mine that I’ve been working towards for many years. And that was taken out of the program relatively quickly after eight days and accordingly it really broke my heart. I then questioned a lot about the industry, my work, but also about myself. The story was a mirror for many things I needed to look at in my life. It then took me a few years to understand a lot of things about myself. I had to learn that you just can’t control life and how it can be done differently. I learned that and wrote it down. That was my little journey.
Sideropoulos: Depression is a big word. I don’t want to presume to say I was depressed. But I would speak of a depressive phase. That you can’t motivate yourself to do things, that you just sit on the couch for days and weeks and don’t see any light at the end of the tunnel. Everything was black and white that was previously colorful.
Sideropoulos: I’ve always been an optimist, I was born that way. What needs to be dispelled is the rumor that optimists are always in a good mood. We are also in a bad mood, angry and can live all emotions, like pessimists. But the difference is that for us it’s all just phases and snapshots. After bad times come good times – in the truest sense of the word. (laughs) We are confident, even in difficult times.
Sideropoulos: Oh, there’s quite a bit. I really have a problem with tardiness. I’m incredibly punctual and wish everyone was, but very few are. This drives me crazy. But I think I have to relax more and find a middle ground. Injustice also makes me angry, in any form, as well as bowing ignorance on social media.
Sideropoulos: I always try to put myself in a good mood with gratitude, so that I keep thinking about what’s already there and not what’s missing. I don’t think much of daily rituals at the same time, because that puts pressure on you and pressure is far from lightness. We have to free ourselves from all these structures. I want the pressure to be taken off and that we can start over every day.
Sideropoulos: I try, especially through past lives. At the end of the day, we only achieve something through past life, both with our children and in our circle of friends and acquaintances. It rarely works with rules and pressure. Of course, education is something in between. But I think it’s really active example. Leading from an attitude, the view on life, about conversations. We feel an awful lot of conversations with our children.
Sideropoulos: That was one of my fixed, funny crazy ideas, which I then turn into reality. I always don’t think too much about things, I just kind of just do it. I’m always looking for suitable songs on social media, which I put under my postings that fit the topic. At that time I was looking for a song that would go with my book and came across the song “Glück” by the band Berge. Then with my second book I thought it would be cool if there was a real song to go with it. Then I called the singer of the band Marianne Neumann, who was already traveling solo at the time, and asked if she wanted to write a song with me. She thought it was great right away.
Sideropoulos: Singing was actually my start. When I was 16, I started musical education and ended after three years when I was 19. Singing was the main subject. At that time I also wanted to be a singer and actress. After that, it developed solely into acting and presenting. After the training I played the leading role in a musical for a year. I love singing, I absolutely love it.
Sideropoulos: I didn’t plan that. I have no intention of ending up at number one in the charts with this song. That takes an awful lot of pressure off. But I would never say never.
Sideropoulos: They love it. My husband is basically really skeptical and also critical of many things. But when it comes to my books and the whole story that goes with them, he’s absolutely blown away. He loves everything about it and is totally on board with it. He loved the song right away. My son always wants me to turn off the song because otherwise he can never get it out of his head, the catchy tune drives him crazy. (laughs)
Sideropoulos: Really good, it was very coherent and also so simple. Now was the right time. Because of the “Leon” spin-offs, it was just great. I am happy that they have been received as well as the films. This simply gave viewers the opportunity to embrace this new character. Because a lot of people wanted Verena back. I’m under no illusions, I think that’s still the case, but that’s just not possible. But the way it was now, it was good and it felt totally right to me. Working with my colleagues and back in this old studio was also somehow emotional for me and just great.
Sideropoulos: I had most of the shooting days with Patrick Heinrich alias Erik. It’s getting really hot, he’s falling in love with my character a little bit and we have a lot of fun on the set. He’s such a great colleague. I didn’t know him before and I’ve been very enthusiastic about his energy since day one. We laughed a lot on set as if we had known each other before.
Sideropoulos: That was clear from the start and I was completely fine with it. It was a visit, again at “GZSZ”. As a result, a door is now open again, because I won’t die there again. That means that at some point Sarah will of course go back to Leon (Daniel Fehlow). He’s already driven up and of course she has to go home.
Sideropoulos: I’m really enjoying it right now. My only resolution is to live in the here and now and just celebrate what’s happening around me.
