The “Sisi” leading actors Jannik Schümann and Dominique Devenport reveal how they felt as the legendary imperial couple.
Ever since the “Sissi” films by Ernst Marischka (1893-1963) from the 1950s, the story of Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria, who as a carefree teenager falls head over heels in love with Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria, has been around the world known. With “Sisi”, RTL + is now showing a six-part event series about the love story of Sisi and Franz from December 12th Prime time can be seen on RTL.
In an interview with the news agency spot on news, Jannik Schümann (29) and Dominique Devenport (25) reveal what distinguishes the series from the classic “Sissi” films, how they felt in uniform and corset and why sex scenes in the Series have a deeper meaning.
Why did you feel like playing these iconic roles?
Jannik Schümann: I found the reinterpretation of our series incredibly exciting. I wanted to show Franz a different side – a character everyone knows and who may see Christmas on TV. Of course, with fictional characters and dialogues, we’re not even close to reality, but we are certainly more realistic than the old films. And the story brings so much depth with it, our books have put that beautifully on paper.
Dominique Devenport: What was particularly interesting about these two characters was that on the one hand you can find a lot of material and all sorts of biographies, facts and documents. On the other hand, there are no current photographs of the two of them, no contemporary witnesses and no video recordings. I always had the feeling that you can get as much information as you want, but the last few percent remain a myth. I found it very interesting to breathe your own voice into these few percent.
The series has a darker character than the “Sissi” films. How novel is the story told?
Schümann: We brought in the whole political level with battles and wars, which was neglected in the other films. Franz also explains the great political conflict much better to us. We show an emperor who is unfaithful and who sleeps with prostitutes, even during marriage. The sex isn’t just on the show because we wanted to show it, but because it’s important to the story and drives it forward. For Franz it is an incredibly important component, because until now he has only perceived women as objects and has used sex as an outlet to let off steam. Now he meets a woman who does not want to be perceived that way, but as a lover who wants to be gently touched. Sisi first has to crack him in order to have a love affair with him because he has not felt love before.
Devenport: The new thing about “Sisi” is that we make her human in the first place. At Sisi, one knows above all the paintings of the great Empress Elisabeth or the fairy and always happy woman from the Marischka films. We show the two characters as multi-layered people with interests, strengths and weaknesses.
Have you had trouble understanding the behavior of your roles?
Schümann: Franz and his decisions are so far removed from Jannik that I don’t even ask myself this question. But when you work out the role and see where he comes from, that he was put into the military as a little boy, became emperor at the age of 18 and then has mum behind him, who whispers that feelings in his ear all his life Signs of weakness are, you can deduce everything and totally understand why Franz acts the way he does.
Devenport: I also had the feeling that Sisi acts relatively understandably for me. I could explain a lot to myself with the age difference, she is a little younger than me. At 15 you sometimes do things because they are right through your mind.
Dominique, it was the first major leading role for you. How did you go into production and how did you feel when you went out?
Devenport: I started production with great excitement, anticipation and a certain naivety. In front of me was an unknown large hole because I didn’t know what to expect. After the four months, I had the feeling that I had made a trip around the world, because I was really immersed in this time. I also learned that you can only prepare up to a certain point. If something doesn’t go as desired, you have to move on to the next scene and forget about the past if possible.
Jannik, were you able to support Dominique with your experience?
Schümann: I had the feeling that we caught each other up, it was a big step for both of us. I knew that filming like this was incredibly difficult and exhausting. Dominique’s advantage was that she hadn’t had the experience yet and approached it with an insanely healthy naivete and vivacity. That infected me. I perceived her as a big board, she always lifted the thing with a smile, even when the air got thin through the corsets (laughs).
How did you feel in uniform and a tight dress?
Devenport: The costumes were an experience in themselves, in contrast to normal modern costumes, when you put them on you immediately adopt a different posture. Much is then no longer possible and you will automatically be thrown into this role. With the clothes and the hair, it always took a while, but every morning I was able to watch myself in the mirror as there was less and less Dominique and more and more Sisi. And that is also close to reality. Sisi had incredibly long hair and spent several hours a day just sitting there and getting her hair done. She needed people who tied her clothes into her and tied her up.
Schümann: I also used the costume as an aid to find my way into the role. Of course, I didn’t have the great worries my female colleagues had with the incredible physical strain of wearing these clothes. But the uniform wasn’t comparable to the sweatpants either. It was tightly tailored, which gave me a physicality and an upright posture that helped me become Franz.
Riding horses or dancing is also part of your roles. How did you prepare?
Devenport: We both took riding and dancing lessons and had an introduction to etiquette with the whole cast. Jannik still had stunt training for the war scenes and a lot of physical strength training. We put a lot of time into the preparation.
With “The Empress” Netflix is also dedicating itself to the Empress. Why is the story still fascinating?
Devenport: We have been looking for stories in which we have female protagonists for a long time. Sisi makes an interesting picture of women. Especially when it comes to emancipation, one could say that she was one of the first role models. In addition, this story “normal girl meets the prince, they marry, live in the castle and their love is stronger than everything” wants to see humanity to this day. The myth part also plays a role. The fact that you can never fully understand the characters makes it interesting to tell this story over and over and over again.
Dominique, you recently revealed that you hadn’t seen the “Sissi” films before they were made.
Devenport: I watched her when I got the role. But it was less of a research because I didn’t use Romy Schneider’s “Sissi” as a template. I just knew that when people think of Sisi they think of this film and not of the historical woman at all. And I wanted to get an idea of that.
Jannik, are the “Sissi” films part of your Christmas tradition?
Schümann: No, my parents never set an example for us. But I already knew the films and watched them again with Dominique before shooting in Latvia – more to immerse myself in the world than to watch something. It was important to us that we don’t watch the films during the shooting days so that we can really separate our reinterpretations from the old films. We don’t even want to replace them and we still find them great in their own way.
How did the shooting go?
Schümann: We shot mostly in the Baltic States and spent the first five weeks in a studio in Riga. The entire Hofburg was rebuilt there. In Lithuania we shot a lot of the outside world, the entire war footage took place in Vilnius and the surrounding area. Most recently we were in Bavaria for five days to really take the alpine panorama with us.
Devenport: Vilnius in particular was a magical time. It is an extremely beautiful and surprising city, there is a large old town with winding streets, cobblestone streets and many cafes. We were there in the summer and the corona regulations were more relaxed. We all went to dinner in the evening, toasted our glasses and grew together in the process.
A second “Sisi” season has already been confirmed. How is that for you?
Schümann: I think we both really want to keep telling these characters because there is still so much to come. It is seldom the case that people get older and their lives become more exciting. With Sisi there is still an exciting time when she gives birth to the heir to the throne and drifts into her own world … We are still a long way from the second season and Dominique and I could not play that even now, here we are still too young. But who knows how we will grow with the roles.
Devenport: Sisi has really gone through so many different ways of life, from one extreme to the next, interrupted by tragic strokes of fate, there is still a lot to tell. I’m also looking forward to the whole cast being back, we were like family.