In “House of Glass” a traumatized family experiences another negative highlight in their lives. This is the outstanding cast.
The six-part miniseries “House of Glass” tells of the strong influences that traumatizing childhood experiences can have. “Even if we have the same parents, it doesn’t mean we had the same childhood,” is one of the truths expressed several years later in the family drama with thriller elements. Or: “Why is everything so tense?” – “Because Emily has to be compensated for the rest of her life for the fact that a terrible misfortune happened to her,” answers the older sister of a former kidnapping victim in response to her partner’s question.
That’s what “House of Glass” is about
The four adult siblings come to the wedding of Chris (Aram Arami, 30) and Emily (Sarah Mahita, 26), the youngest daughter of the foundry entrepreneur Richard Schwarz (Götz Schubert, 60) and his wife Barbara (Juliane Köhler, 58). together in the parents’ house. When an alarm turns the living room into a panic room, Emily is caught up in her old trauma: she was kidnapped as a child and locked in a box while the ransom was handed over.
Family conflicts and old wounds also open up among the others when Richard wants to talk about the future of the company. The hard-working Eva (Stefanie Reinsperger, 35), Felix (Merlin Rose, 30), who emigrated to Canada, and the single parent Leo (Morgane Ferru, 33) resist his plans. The next day, a family member disappears under mysterious circumstances and Richard is convinced that the kidnappers from back then have struck again…
Impressive ensemble
The fact that the story of a rather unworldly family, which at times seems a bit aloof, is still fascinating is clearly due to the cast. And the less well-known faces are in no way inferior to the well-known members of this ensemble of actors. These are the artists behind the roles.
Sarah Mahita as former kidnap victim Emily
Actress Sarah Mahita was born in Filderstadt, Baden-Württemberg in 1997. She played the main role Rebekka in the film drama “Albträumer” (2020), which received much attention at award ceremonies. Mahita herself was nominated for the Braunschweig Film Prize for this. Before “House of Glass” she was seen in “Munich Laim – Laim and the Sleeping Dogs” (2023). She had recurring supporting roles in the TV series “Dr. Klein (2014-2019) as the film’s daughter of the title character and in “Die Eifelpraxis” (2016-2019) as the daughter of the rector.
Aram Arami as business-minded Chris
The German actor of Kurdish descent Aram Arami was born in 1993. Most viewers will probably recognize him from the popular TV series “The Three from the Garbage Collection” (since 2020). Alongside Uwe Ochsenknecht (67) and Jörn Hentschel (born 1969), he plays the third eponymous Berlin garbage man, Tarik Büyüktürk. Arami has also been part of the extremely successful “Fack ju Göhte” films (2013, 2015, 2017).
Merlin Rose as Felix, a Canadian by choice
Actor Merlin Rose was born in Berlin in 1993. He caused a stir with the lead role in the Austrian-German coming-of-age film “Aus der Haut” (2016). Rose was awarded the Günter Strack Television Prize for his portrayal of 17-year-old Milan Schultze, who is almost destroyed by his homosexuality. He was last seen in the cinema in “When will it finally be the way it never was” (2023).
Morgane Ferru as single mother Leo
The French actress Morgane Ferru was born in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1991. Since 2017 she has been a permanent member of the cast of the television series “Praxis mit Meerblick” as medical assistant Mandy. In the Swiss hostage drama based on a true story, “And tomorrow you’ll be dead” (2021), she played the main female character who, together with her boyfriend, is kidnapped by a criminal gang in Pakistan and sold to the Taliban. She was also seen in Munich’s “Tatort: Der Wüstensohn” (2014).
Stefanie Reinsperger as assertive Eva
Speaking of Sunday thrillers, Stefanie Reinsperger also comes into play here. The Austrian actress, born in 1988, has been part of the Dortmund team since 2021, of which only Jörg Hartmann (54) as Peter Faber will soon be left from the original cast. But Reinsperger has long since established herself as Chief Inspector Rosa Herzog. She is also a celebrated theater star. In addition to numerous awards for her stage art, she has also won a Romy in the “Most Popular Actress Series” category since 2022, which she received, among other things, for the country crime thriller “Flammenmaid” (2021).
Götz Schubert as frustrated patriarch Richard
The head of the family is also portrayed by a well-known face on the German television landscape. Götz Schubert was born in Pirna, Saxony, in 1963. He also started his career primarily on the boards that mean the world. As part of the crime series “KDD-Kriminaldauerdienst” (2007-2010), he and the ensemble were awarded the German Television Prize in 2007 and the Adolf Grimme Prize in 2008. In 2012 he received the audience Bambi for “The Tower”. His most recent professional conquest comes in 2023: the Askania Award in the Best Actor category. Schubert has been playing in the crime series “Kolleginnen” since 2022 and as Chief Inspector Burkhard “Butsch” Schulz in “Wolfsland” since 2016.
Juliane Köhler as disappointed artist Barbara
His film wife Juliane Köhler is a real film star. The artist, who was born in Göttingen in 1965, first caught the eye – and then really – in “Aimée & Jaguar” (1999) by director Max Färberböck (73). The film received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Foreign Language Film in 2000. She played the title role in the Oscar-winning feature film “Nowhere in Africa” (2003) by Caroline Link (59), and she appeared as Eva Braun in the Oscar-nominated historical film “Downfall” (2004) by Oliver Hirschbiegel (66). Juliane Köhler’s extensive filmography also includes a number of “crime scenes”, the TV series “Toni, male, midwife” (since 2019) and bizarre series such as “Der Beischleißer” (2020-2021).
The six episodes of the miniseries “House of Glass” will be shown in double episodes on January 9th and 10th from 8:15 p.m. on Erste. The last two episodes air on January 12th at 10:20 p.m.