As Gmeinwieser Susi, community worker and partner of the Niederkaltenkirchen village policeman Franz Eberhofer (Sebastian Bezzel, 51), actress Lisa Maria Potthoff (44) has gained a large fan base since the Eberhofer crime film adaptations began in 2013. Only a year later, another crime series began, in which she embodies the eponymous Hamburg police officer “Sarah Kohr”. “Irrlichter” (December 27, 8:15 p.m., ZDF) is now the eighth film in this powerful series. A good reason to talk to the Berliner, who grew up in Munich, about her great love of martial arts. In an interview with spot on news, she explains, among other things, why she appreciates these techniques so much, how painful the brutal fight scenes during filming really are for her and what she thinks of a joint film with actor and martial artist Benjamin Piwko (42, “You should hear “) would hold.
Lisa Maria Potthoff: The viewers can’t know anything about this love story because it wasn’t a topic in the previous films. It is, so to speak, a fictional prehistory that is only hinted at. Sarah Kohr was in love and in a relationship that made her very happy. This person has passed away and she wonders why and how this could have happened.
Potthoff: No, you would basically have to do that for every topic that is dealt with in a film. Let’s say we’re making a movie about a man cheating on a woman. We wouldn’t do a survey on the subject “Who has cheated on his wife?” before shooting begins. start. That is up to you.
Potthoff: Actually, I would always say “not at all”. But we recently had a preliminary meeting with our new director for the next “Sarah Kohr” film and she asked me the same thing. When I started to list them, I realized that there is always something. But apparently I suppress it quickly again – and I no longer count bruises anyway.
Potthoff: It’s not without it either. That’s why working with my fellow actor Lasse Myhr [42] was so outstanding. In “Irrlichter” he plays one of the corona deniers with whom I have the final fight. He also wanted our fight scene to be as real as possible. Of course, sometimes a fist lands harder in the stomach – for me and for him. You have to grit your teeth. And we managed to do that.
Potthoff: It works (winks). When hitting the stomach, it makes sense to tense it, otherwise it hurts a lot more. I also train martial arts for the “Sarah Kohr” films. By the way, I started with this sport for the film “Carneval – The Clown Brings Death” (2018, the first), which we shot in early 2017.
Potthoff: He’s a film fan and can abstract that. He looks at the scenes in terms of film aesthetics and he really likes them. That makes me happy.
Potthoff: Sport plays a very important role in my life. But I’m not a sports fanatic, I have a very healthy weaker self. I didn’t start martial arts until I was in my late 30s, so very late. But all the more violently I fell in love with her. Learning martial arts is learning something very holistic. It also influences the attitude towards life. For example, if you listen to the great martial artist Bruce Lee [1940-1973, ed.], he conveyed not only fighting but also a mental approach to life. Martial arts not only teach you to be fit or to be able to defend yourself well. You also learn to have humility, perseverance and determination to stick with something. I walk this route, even if the way is long. The journey is important, not the destination.
Potthoff: It is important to value the other person. In any martial art, the opponent is treated with great respect. I have a trainer and mentor that I really enjoy spending time with and learning a lot from, Yi-Chung Chen. Martial arts is also brain training. Step-hand combinations are also mental training. All this keeps your head young – I can’t stop raving about it, I think it’s so great.
Potthoff: If it looks like two people are beating each other up in the film, that’s high stunt and choreographic art. It takes very good preparation and great trust in one another. In fact, sometimes we don’t even touch. But the wilder and freer it looks, the better the arrangements were in advance. That’s what’s fascinating about it. Martial arts scenes can be compared to dance choreography. Our final fight in the film “Sarah Kohl – Irrlichter” actually looks relatively violent.
Potthoff: I haven’t played with Benjamin Piwko yet. But he is the friend of Felicitas Woll [42], with whom I shot last year. Benjamin and I also talked a lot about martial arts while we were shooting. He’s a great martial artist, a lovely person and of course I’d love to work with him. But he also offered me to train together. I would be happy about that too.
