Veronica Ferres in “Tatort”
The real scandal behind the role
© BR/Odeon Fiction GmbH/Luis Zeno Kuhn
Veronica Ferres plays a shady character in “Tatort” who closes herself off from the abuse in her surroundings. Her role has real relevance.
“Rarely can you play a role with such depths and such a tough protective shield.” In the latest Munich “crime scene,” Veronica Ferres takes on the character of the shady Sylvia, who closes her eyes to the sexual assaults of the President of the Bavaria Association (Wolfgang Fierek, 72). What’s more: she literally introduces him to the young, pretty product queens. As Ferres revealed in an interview with the “Bild” newspapera real person had influence over her role.
To prepare for her role, she was also helped by the mysterious Ghislaine Maxwell, 61, who is said to have introduced young girls, some of whom were probably even underage, to her partner, the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein (1953-2019). Maxwell is said to have made the first contact for him so that Epstein could later abuse them. She recruited the girls, most of whom came from poor backgrounds. She then used money to silence the victims after the crimes.
Veronica Ferres: “Sylvia was once the victim herself”
“The woman I play is ambivalent. But it’s important to show such characters,” says Ferres, “because unfortunately they also exist in real life.” Such incidents are a “widespread social problem”. She hopes that the “crime scene” will help educate and encourage young women and girls to say “no.”
The perfidious thing about her character: “Sylvia was once the victim herself. She experienced and suffered the same things as the young women. She says to herself, I survived it, then they will endure it too.” Sylvia also thinks that the girls would actually benefit from sex with the perpetrator. She doesn’t think what she’s doing is great, but she looks away: “For the profit of the Bavaria-Bund and for her own benefit.” This creates a vicious circle.