Axel Prahl in an interview: Biography, "Tatort" and dealing with radicals

When you hear the name Axel Prahl (65), you immediately think of Frank Thiel, the Münster "Tatort" detective he has portrayed since 2002. But the actor was already performing in theater before that, and he also works on films and television series. Prahl is also a musician with his band "Das Inselorchester" (The Island Orchestra). Now, journalist Knut Elstermann has written a biography of Prahl, which will be published on November 5th under the title "Was man liebt, braucht Zeit" (What you love takes time) – a literary collage of memories and interviews with companions.

"What you love takes time" is the title of your biography. What does this sentence mean to you?

Time is one of the most important things in life because it's limited. Especially in art, it's true that constant dripping wears away the stone. If I paint a small matchbox every day and glue it together with other matchboxes I've also painted, a large work of art can gradually emerge. For everything you love, you need time.

Have you always taken enough time for the things you love?

Reflecting on this, I realized that in 2014, for example, I filmed five movies and gave 50 concerts. That didn't leave much time for my family. This led me to the idea that I need to reorganize my time.

And how did you do that?

I had to learn to say no, which I still find difficult. I get excited about things very easily, and that's why I'm still not very good at saying no.

Does this mean you also have to say no to things you're passionate about because there are too many of them?

Right, that is certainly a luxury. But sometimes it's not easy to juggle everything.

Author Knut Elstermann, who co-wrote your biography, says of you: "He became a kind of contemporary Kafkaesque figure for me." What do you say to that comparison?

That's a lovely compliment. My work on the film "Kafka's The Burrow" led me to delve a little deeper into the work of this author. Kafka was always a bit eccentric, a bit mystical, and at times, in a certain way, a visionary. "The Burrow" is about an animal-like creature that isolates itself from the outside world in its burrow and is driven to murder because it sees its possessions threatened. This aptly describes what's currently happening in European politics: everyone is struggling with the fact that other people are coming to their country because they, too, want to live safely and well. Some feel threatened by these immigrants.

For author Knut Elstermann, your performance in the film "Night Shapes" (1999) was also a key moment in his view of your career. What was your key moment as an actor?

For me, it was the film "Halfway Up the Staircase," for which there was no script. Director Andreas Dresen had only written biographies for the characters; we developed the film's plot together over three months in a hotel. That was a special project for me because improvisation is my favorite working method.

How often do you still get to improvise these days?

In "Tatort," Jan Josef Liefers and I sometimes improvise or add things that aren't in the script – for entertainment value.

From an outsider's perspective, your greatest success has undoubtedly been your portrayal of the "Tatort" investigator Frank Thiel, a role you've played for over 20 years. How much has this role changed your life?

Jan Josef and I were both a bit surprised by the success. When I was asked if I wanted to become a "Tatort" detective in Münster, I thought about it for a long time. After we started, we were out with our Cologne "Tatort" colleagues Dietmar Bär and Klaus J. Behrendt, and I found it fascinating how they were constantly recognized in Cologne. They said, "Just wait, in two or three years you'll be in the same boat." They were right. Even today, when people shout "Hey Thiel" or something like that after me, my wife always says, "Be glad you didn't play Adolf Hitler."

Do you still sometimes find it annoying that you are addressed as Mr. Thiel instead of Mr. Prahl?

Yes, but that's rather rare. More often it's something like, "Hello, Commissioner." Otherwise, I'm usually addressed as Mr. Braggart.

You're probably often recognized in the supermarket. How much do you need to protect your privacy in your everyday life?

I've already moved to the farthest reaches of the world. (laughs)

But even there, people probably watch "Tatort"...

Yes, but they usually leave me alone here. There's a supermarket here where I can shop undisturbed, and the employees already know me.

You said you thought long and hard about whether to accept the "Tatort" role. Have you ever regretted it?

No, I have virtually no regrets in my life. Every bad experience also contains something positive for personal growth. Sometimes you have to fail to develop further. Unfortunately, that's part of life.

You haven't had to die on screen that often. Would you like to play Thiel's death someday – or would you prefer a different ending for your detective character when the time comes?

I can more easily picture Thiel with Professor Boerne somewhere on a beach in the Balearic Islands (laughs). I've had to die on screen in several TV movies. In "Only With You," for example, it was a heart attack. In "The Stairway to Heaven," I was shot, as I was in "An Enemy to Die For" and in Lars Becker's "Save Your Skin." There's a funny story about that: We were filming in a residential area, and there was a break in filming at night, so I went into a pub with this fake gunshot wound to the head. That caused quite a stir. (laughs)

Away from "Tatort," you often play "the lonely, ordinary citizen," Knut Elstermann analyzes. What draws you to these roles?

That wasn't the whole quote from Knut, it went on. That's why Knut wanted to write this book, because I don't just play the little guy. It's mostly a matter of media perception. And of course, it also has something to do with the offers, and the fact that those responsible for casting always like to play it safe. But perhaps it also has a little to do with my desire for justice. We need a certain redistribution of wealth, not more billionaires. But I certainly don't just play "little people," even though that's often claimed. I recently had the opportunity to portray Professor Carl Clauberg in the as-yet-unreleased film "Block 10." That was the block in Auschwitz where young Jewish women were forcibly sterilized. I played a truly monstrous monster.

That's a tough role. Are there any roles you would refuse to play on principle?

Yes, I wouldn't want to play Hitler. Otherwise, you always have to look at the script. I wouldn't want to play anything that would in any way support right-wing leanings.

In the book you write: "I have always been open, even towards people who were different, perhaps even radical." How far does this openness extend today?

It's pointless to demonize radicals from the outset. One must at least try to talk to them: What's your problem? How can this be changed? Aren't innocent people being scapegoated by your party? Doesn't your party platform contain mostly things that directly harm you? One must remain open to dialogue and demonstrate that democracy and social cohesion are valuable assets, that the EU grants freedoms that leaving would destroy. We can see the consequences of this very clearly in England. Foreign doctors and specialists have left, the new tariffs on imports and exports have drastically increased the cost of everything, and where they used to breeze through customs, they now stand in long queues. With the wrong people in power, everything can very quickly spiral completely out of control.

They don't believe in emotional distance from the role. Isn't that extremely exhausting when you play a role like the one in "Block 10"?

This role is one of the easiest in that respect, because the character isn't empathetic. Basically, I just had to switch off all my feelings. When a young woman is in agony and screaming in pain, and my character then hits her, I have to put aside all the empathy I myself possess.

Not easy when you are an empathetic person yourself.

It's manageable. The breaks between takes are much harder because you think to yourself: For God's sake, what have these people done? What guilt have they brought upon themselves? Why did they have to torment other people like that? Of course, there were also many young female colleagues on set who then had their heads shaved. That humiliation alone does something to you.

Are you able to easily switch off such roles when you go home in the evening – or only when the entire shoot is over?

I've become very good at dealing with these kinds of things by now. It's part of my job, after all, to be able to switch my emotions on and off as needed. I certainly don't take it home with me, although of course I do talk to my wife about my work and tell her about these awful experiences.

Jan Josef Liefers and Anna Loos

In the book, a former artistic director describes you as a show-off. Are you actually one?

Yes, I'm definitely a show-off. The There's nothing dishonorable about it – you have to be a bit of a showman in this job. You want to entertain, and that also means being full of ideas and suggestions for what else you can do. Being a showman is actually a good quality.