Christian Friedel shares his reaction on the Oscars red carpet to the ending of 'The Zone of Interest' when he first saw it on the big screen. Plus, he dishes on the research he did to prepare for his role.
Category
✨
PeopleTranscript
00:00 This movie is just so powerful and moving.
00:03 What was your reaction when you saw the ending of the film on screen for the first time?
00:07 I was really surprised because Jonathan decided to make a different cut than it was written in the script.
00:16 And I was really surprised and I was overwhelmed, I was touched.
00:21 I had the feeling, oh my god, his vision works and that was really emotional.
00:31 You play a real person in this film. What sort of research did you do into his life before taking on the role?
00:37 We didn't want to make a biopic and it was not so necessary for me to read all the biographical stuff.
00:44 We had a lot of conversations and I read some things about him. I listened to his voice on YouTube from the Nuremberg trial.
00:53 And that was really interesting because you hear a voice of a, not from a perpetrator, you hear a voice from a prisoner,
00:59 but maybe his real voice inside of him.
01:02 And that was really interesting, inspiring for me, what could be inside of him.
01:09 And to work on this body language.
01:14 But for me the most important thing for preparation were the conversations we had together with Jonathan Glaser and my lovely colleague Sandra Hillam.
01:23 Here we are at the Oscars. What has been the highlight of your award season journey with The Zone of Interest?
01:28 I think the Oscars because this is the award every kid in the world knows the Oscars.
01:36 And it's the most important award in the world for filmmakers.
01:42 And to be here, I'm so lucky because I'm here for the second time.
01:47 I was here 14 years ago with the White Ribbon for Michael Haneke.
01:51 We didn't win but I hope tonight will be different.
01:54 But to be nominated is a win and to celebrate this finale with cast and crew tonight, this is really exciting.
02:04 The sound is such an important part in this movie.
02:06 What would it mean to see the sound team honored here at the Oscars tonight with a trophy?
02:10 I like the sound team. They are really funny, great persons, characters.
02:15 And they are really good in their work.
02:20 And I hope, for me, we had a lot of Q&As in the last months together with the departments.
02:29 And it's unusual because sometimes the actors, it's all about the actors.
02:33 But here, this movie is a work from all departments.
02:38 The sound is, let me say that, maybe the secret lead actor in the movie
02:44 because this is so important what you hear and not what you see, what you feel.
02:49 And they are here, they celebrate themselves and I hope they get an Oscar tonight.
02:57 I hope so. But it's a tough competition.
03:01 It's a great year for films.
03:05 But it's great to see the guys here and all the other amazing crew members.
03:11 So, yeah, it's great.
03:13 [BLANK_AUDIO]