GZSZ star Niklas Osterloh reveals: “We are up to this task”

He has become an indispensable part of television. Niklas Osterloh, 32, has been inspiring with his acting talent not only since 2016 as Paul Wiedmann in “Gute Zeiten, Bad Zeiten”. In the summer he stood in front of the camera as police chief Frank van Dijk for the new ARD series “WaPo Duisburg” (on TV from January 11, 2022). For this he announced a three-month break at GZSZ, during which his role said goodbye to Canada. But don’t worry: he’s been back on set as Paul since mid-September and is causing a stir right away.

But not only professionally, also privately it couldn’t be better for the actor. The shooting of “WaPo Duisburg” has just ended when his second daughter saw the light of day. On August 30th, 2021, he and his wife Tini Osterloh, 34, were finally able to hold their little miracle in their arms. But the two can also look back on a difficult time – they had to cope with a miscarriage last year.

In an interview with GALA, Niklas Osterloh speaks openly about his happiness as a new dad, how things are going for him at GZSZ and how he gets filming and family under one roof.

Niklas Osterloh in the GALA interview: “You can still sleep later”

Gala: After your break for filming at “WaPo Duisburg”, you are now back in front of the camera as Paul Wiedmann for GZSZ. The fans missed you very much. Are you happy about your comeback too?
Niklas Osterloh: Total! I’ve been filming again since the second week of September and I was very happy to be back. I’ve been there for a few years now, you just know each other and it’s all very familiar.

During your break at GZSZ, Paul was in Canada, separated from his family. Could you imagine not seeing your family for such a long time for a job?
Difficult. My wife and daughter were part of the shoot for “WaPo” in Cologne for the first time and they were in Potsdam for the last three or four weeks because my wife was heavily pregnant. That was very difficult for us. But then I went to Potsdam almost every weekend.

I can’t imagine being separated from my wife and children for three months.

But mostly there is also the possibility that we all go out together. My mother always says: “Buy a mobile home, it makes the most sense, as much as you are on the road.” (laughs)

The GZSZ star has become a father a second time

At the end of the shooting of “WaPo Duisburg” you became parents for the second time. How did that change your life?
I haven’t slept that much before, now I almost don’t sleep at all. (laughs) Well, we already have a child, she’s four and a half now. That’s why you know so roughly what to expect. I always wake up as soon as the little one wakes up. I would say I am on the verge of lack of sleep. But it hasn’t changed our lives fundamentally because we were already a small family. But it’s also nice to see how resilient you can be.

Is it difficult for you, as a new father, to go back to filming GZSZ?
I live very close to the GZSZ studio, so I can always go home between breaks. This is very valuable to me, as it allows me to spend a lot of time with my family in order to be able to soak up everyday family life. The little one is ten weeks now, time flies so quickly. I don’t want to miss that much. But I try to get as much as possible. You can then still sleep later. (laughs)

In an earlier interview with GALA you said that you drive back and forth between Hamburg and Potsdam – but generally want to build a life in Potsdam. How is your family life shaping up now?
We live in Hamburg and Potsdam. Hamburg has always been our home, but the more we have to do now, including with the children, the less we are there. Of course we are still there regularly because the whole family is in the north, but I think we will soon become permanent residents of Potsdam. The location of GZSZ is primarily in the Babelsberg studio, i.e. in Potsdam.

“Life has given us a task to which we have grown”

Before you had your second child, you unfortunately had to cope with a severe blow of fate. Can you put into words how great the joy was about your second daughter who was born healthy?
I have to say, we had no doubt that our daughter would be born healthy in the summer. The previous miscarriage was of course a shock because we hadn’t expected it at all. Life has given us a task and we have grown with it. My wife and I focused on the essentials and then quickly turned it into a positive.

Of course we were really happy when she was pregnant again and that our little daughter was born safe and sound. But I’ve never had a doubt about it either. There were of course the first appointments at the gynecologist, and memories came up. It also happened at a routine appointment when we got the message: “Unfortunately there are no more heartbeats.” Of course you noticed a little tension at first, but I tried not to worry. I just firmly believed that now was the right moment.

How does your daughter find her role as a big sister?
It’s so cute to see our older daughter play big sister now. That was her greatest wish, too, to have a little sister. I don’t know what she would have done if it had been a boy. (laughs)

Is your planning for the next generation finished with the 2nd child?
No, not locked. But we have no plans, or say: We absolutely have to push the third child afterwards.

We keep this open and can well imagine having a third child.

But now we have enough to do with our ten-week-old offspring.

So with a view to the future: will you continue to be seen as Paul Wiedmann at GZSZ?
For the time being, definitely. My current contract is still running and I am also very happy at GZSZ. It’s great to be able to do your job every day. And I really appreciate that at GSZS. I’ll definitely still be here next year.

Source used: own interview

Gala