TV commissioner Matthias Koeberlin (“The Dead from Lake Constance”) has found his explanation for the ongoing crime boom. “It’s probably simply the fascination of evil,” said the 49-year-old from Cologne to the German Press Agency. How someone becomes a murderer or comes to inflict severe suffering on another – such questions captivate many people.
“Because of the crime stories, whole areas of our country have probably already been depopulated,” the actor joked. And added: “But we’re not alone – things are booming in Scandinavia and England too. And if viewers are interested in that, I think that’s fine. I’ve always really enjoyed roles like Marthaler and Oberländer.”
Something else, however, frightens him very much: “It’s the pleasure in real horror. This gawker mentality when others are involved in accidents – and people also film it. There’s a loss of distance and respect for others,” explained the father of the family. The frequent aggression towards the police and rescue workers also gave him a headache. “I ask myself where that comes from. Is that the spirit of the times? Actually, there is enough horror in the world – it feels like it’s more than ever.”
The actor, who also investigates as private detective “Hartwig Seeler” in the first, can be seen in a non-crime role on Thursday at 8:15 p.m.: In the social comedy “Guests for Dinner” (ZDF) he plays a husband and father whose family relationships are not what he previously believed or pretended to be. Based on the script and directed by Carolin Otterbach, Neda Rahmanian, Josefine Preuss and Maximilian Grill also take part.
