Jürgen Prochnow
Why he goes into raptures with this young star
Wilhelm Schürmann (Jürgen Prochnow) is on tour with the runaway Felix (Marinus Hohmann) in the road movie "Der Alte und die Nervensäge".
© ARD Degeto / Martin Rottenkolber
Jürgen Prochnow plays one of the two title roles in "The Old Man and the Nervesaw". He raves about his young co-star.
Reunion with film star Jürgen Prochnow (79, "Das Boot", "Scouts of Peace")! In "Der Alte und die Nervensäge" (December 11th, 8:15 pm, the first) he plays the widower Wilhelm Schürmann, who shortly before his 75th birthday has absolutely no desire to change his way of life even in the slightest, his age and his health Adapt themes. When he is supposed to forego driving a car after a fit of weakness and move in with his daughter Bettina (Katja Studt, 47, "Die Stein") and her family, the idiosyncratic old man leaves with his beloved old-timer camping bus.
He does not stay alone for long, however, because the 16-year-old runaway Felix (Marinus Hohmann, "Welcome to the Hartmanns") uses his chance to escape with Wilhelm and his bus before a weekend with his unloved father. Felix doesn't care where it goes – the main thing is to go! The taciturn Wilhelm, on the other hand, has a plan in which the talkative annoyance bothers a lot: He wants to follow an old vacation tour and remember his deceased wife. In order to have his peace of mind, he tries to get rid of Felix as soon as possible …
"Attractive juxtaposition of young and old"
He explains why Jürgen Prochnow, who made the international breakthrough in 1981 with the leading role of the submarine commander in Wolfgang Petersen's (79, "Troja") anti-war film "Das Boot", agreed to do the film "The old man and the pain in the ass" in an interview with the news agency spot on news. "I read the script and I liked it. Above all, the appealing juxtaposition of young and old, wrapped in a comedy. The script is always decisive for me, and so is the role."
In the film, interesting sentences like these are used: "First they check your underwear, then they want your car key and then they lock you away", says Wilhelm in one scene. Or: "Man, it must be really hard to be that old. You are treated just like me," says Felix elsewhere. "It is about the degradation of a person as a drastic experience in their private sphere. Wilhelm tries to escape from this. The fact is that he wants to shape his life for himself and can still do so because he is fit enough – at least he thinks", explains Prochnow.
Health, conventional medicine and corona
Does Wilhelm Schürmann have a problem with conventional medicine? "I don't think it goes that far. Wilhelm just doesn't want to take pills for high blood pressure. He thinks it's exaggerated. He never had anything – and suddenly he is simply prescribed medication. That makes him stubborn," says Prochnow about his figure in the movie.
Speaking of health. How is he as an artist in Corona times? Can he get anything positive out of the lockdown phases? "No, I can't get anything positive from that. I just find the restrictions that affect our entire profession terrible."
How was the collaboration with the young actor?
For the road movie, Jürgen Prochnow got a young colleague at his side. Marinus Hohmann knows everyone who has seen the surprise success "Willkommen bei den Hartmanns (2016)" by director and screenwriter Simon Verhoeven (48); he played the son of Florian David Fitz (46) in it. Hohmann then had leading roles in "Five Friends und das Tal der Dinosaurier "(2018) and" When Hitler stole the pink rabbit "(2019) by Caroline Link (56).
"The interaction with Marinus was great, although I had great concerns at the beginning. There were several auditions with young people and in the end Marinus was accepted. I would say a six in the lottery. He was exactly the type of boy as in the script. Everything was great ", enthuses Berlin old star Prochnow about the young artist from Bad Aibling, Bavaria.
But that's not all, the veteran appreciates the young colleague in concrete terms: "Marinus already had experience, was always well prepared and totally reliable. That is of decisive importance for me. It could have turned out differently. I have met other young actors worked together – they weren't that disciplined, "recalls Prochnow.