Matthias Schweighöfer (42) can be seen in his next international role: In the action film “Heart of Stone” (starting August 11 on Netflix) he plays Herzbube, a technology specialist who works in a peacekeeping organization run by secret agent Rachel Stone (Gal Gadot, 38) while working with the heart, a powerful AI.
“The set was in a big dark room and I had to stare into space a lot and keep asking where do I have to look again exactly and which hand movements do I make where,” says the actor in an interview with the news agency spot on news the actors’ union strike, about the immersive virtual environment in which his role operates. “But it was also a lot of fun. We had to laugh a lot.”
He worked with a movement coach for the shoot and “we really had to find our own language for all these movements,” Schweighöfer continues. “We were able to use the computer completely in 360 degrees. I think I only really understood what they really meant when the end result looked great (laughs).” The topic of AI can no longer be stopped, explains Schweighöfer about the current topic of the film. “Back then, when we were shooting, we said it would be crazy if that actually happened. It felt even further away. And now it’s completely there.”
In the next few years it will be about how you use it and what happens there. “I’m following this with interest and would rather worry less about what might change it.” In his own everyday life, he is “technically a complete loser,” admits Schweighöfer. “When my kids ask me if I can plug something in, I get really scared. I know if I mess up now, the whole weekend will be over.”
The actor particularly appreciated working with his co-stars on “Heart of Stone”: “Gal is super cool and a very warm, loving woman. She is very family-oriented and kept us all together. You can steal horses with her.” Jamie Dornan (41), who plays Agent Parker, only met him on the promo tour, “it was very funny and I had to laugh a lot with him. We’re definitely new best friends now.” It’s great that Netflix projects, including “Army of Thieves”, give him the chance to play with actors from different countries, “the diversity is great,” explains Schweighöfer. He enjoyed acting in English,” he continues. “I like the language, and as a filmmaker I want to delve deeper into it and take the chance to tell good stories around the world. I’m curious to see what will happen in the next few years.” As an actor, he would like to see a “good horror film. A franchise like that, I would find that very interesting.”
And what about Schweighöfer’s plans in Germany? Most recently he was in front of the camera for “Girl You Know It’s True”, the biopic about the band Milli Vanilli. “It’s been a year now and it was completely absurd to play in German again,” says Schweighöfer. “It may sound stupid, but it’s really like that. In English you need fewer words, in German you need a lot more to explain even the smallest things.”
He’s making another film for his own production company this year, “I’ve been working on it for seven years now. But I’m also open to other projects in Germany, it just has to be the right idea. It’s my homeland and I’ll be there too do not go away.” It’s nice to take the most creative energy from both worlds, says the actor about his life between Germany and the USA. And how did he manage to gain a foothold in the latter country? “Everyone gets a chance there if they want one and fight for it. Everyone can make it there and everyone is also open to new ideas. Of course luck is also part of it, but above all you need a lot of courage and power.” He is still very much perceived as a German, just because of his last name, “but I love this underdog position,” says the 42-year-old. “I find it very funny when my girlfriend and I are in America and she speaks English without an accent and is always asked where she comes from. People don’t even ask me, ‘Germany’, of course.”
In order to connect both worlds even more, the actor has developed a special format on social media: In his “German Sayings” clips on Instagram, Schweighöfer translates English proverbs verbatim into German. “At some point I found it really tiring to upload private photos because it makes you think about it more than you thought. So I wanted a format where you still say ‘hello’ on social channels and it’s kind of funny.” The fans can look forward to a lot of replenishment of the popular videos. “We shot 100 clips with the team in two days,” says the actor. “We now have material for a whole year.”
