Interview

TUMBLING PEBBLES

Jonah Verhanahan

Today we will have a special guest with us in our weekly artist interviews! His most notable appearance as Count Orlock in Nosferatu gave him a reputation of being a terrifying actor. Please welcome Friedrich Gustav Maximillian Schreck!

Q: Now, Mr. Schreck. Let’s give our readers a quick description of your beginnings! Where were you born? And tell us about your family, while you’re at it.

A: I was born to my parents in Berlin-Friednau on the sixth of September, 1879. I do not have many remembrances of my parents; they’ve been lost to my memory for years. Early in life, I had trained as an apprentice, according to the will of my parents. Later, however, I trained at the Berliner Staatstheater, which was the public theatre in Berlin at the time. (Eickhoff)(Roaring Twenties)

Q: How was it that you became interested in acting?

A: As I mentioned before, I began to learn basic acting methods at my schooling in the State Theater of Berlin. What truly solidified my place in acting was my debut in a theater in the city of Speyer. Soon after, I was recruited by the Max Reinhardt Company, and we toured Germany for two years appearing at theatres in Erfurt, Bremen, Zittau, Gera, Lucerne, and Frankfurt am Main. (Film Zeit)

Q: How did your mentors mold you into the actor you are today?

A: I have had many different mentors, starting with Max Reinhardt. I joined the Reinhardt Company, and toured throughout Berlin. Later, I played a landlord named Glubb in Bertolt Brecht’s debut play, The Drums in the Night. He taught me about character work, and becoming a new, unique person for each role.

I also learned how to be an unconventional character actor in the emerging styles involving dark and mysterious characters. This came in handy during my appearance as Nosferatu in the self titled movie. (Encyclopedia Britannica)

Q: What was the acting scene like in Berlin when you debuted?

A: People had started to push the boundaries in plays. With the introduction of cinema in the 1910s, play-writes began to add new elements. Characters began to seem more varied and settings were exotic. The plot and morale that were placed into these new plays and films related more to the average person. Slowly, however, it began to form into what it is today. (Eickhoff)

Q: What major events in society affected theatre?

A: World War One. I served in the war as a soldier in the army from 1915-1918. The Russian Revolution also caused some changes in the acting of the time. The debt caused by World War One really made a setback in the advancement of the arts. The reparations that Germany had to pay made it hard for the arts to survive. When Hitler came into power with the National Socialist Workers Party, money was still sparse, but it was a little easier for us to appeal to the public. (Find Biography)(Roaring Twenties)

Q: What are you most proud of in your accomplishments and methods?

A: Of course I’m most well known for being Count Orlock in Nosferatu, so I suppose that is what I am most proud of. I also am proud that I went to school at the State Theater of Berlin, that I debuted in the city of Speyer, that I was able to work with many brilliant people such as Bertolt Brecht, Karl Valentine, Liesl Karlstadt, Erwin Faber, and Blandine Ebinger. But of course, what I am most proud of is my wonderful wife, Fanny Normann. (Film Zeit)

Q: Now I know this may be repetitive, but could you highlight your turning points in your life?

A: When I began acting, I never thought I would make it to the stage, let alone the movies! But of course, I did. Finishing my teachings at the Berlin State Theater set me on my way. Then I had my debut, and continued to appear in more shows. I helped debut some of the best writers and actors of Germany during the time. The friends I made during this time were some of my best, and helped me succeed. Joining Max Reinhardts Company was the beginning of my trip to the cinema. During my stint with Reinhardt, I met more people in high places. I was soon in high demand, and then I was invited to Count Orlock in Nosferatu. (Pollack)

Q: Did anything stump you on your road to being the artist you wanted to be?

A: Being enlisted in World War One was a setback in my studies as a younger man. After I returned to my normal life I got back on track. It was as easy and stress-free as it gets being an actor. When I became Nosferatu, I thought it would be the highlight of my career; which it was. Until F.W. Murnau was sued by Bram Stoker’s estate for producing the film without entitling any royalties to Stoker. His company lost everything, and made it hard for me as an actor to find more work. Later on I came back to play original characters in new plays. (Scott, A.O.)(Scott, Robert)(Pollack)

Q: Who inspired you to become an actor?

A: I honestly don’t know. Of course my peers in school inspired me, and the great actors of the time. Max Reinhardt was a hero of mine, especially since he was discriminated against for being a Jew. Although most Jews were hated throughout Europe, he pursued what he wanted and succeeded until he was literally driven out of Germany. (Encyclopedia Britannica)

Q: What stories do you have of your beginnings of being a successful actor?

A: One day we were rehearsing on the set of Nosferatu, and I said to F.W. Murnau that I think I’ll be going to hell for only portraying monsters and terrible men. He laughed, and by the next week all the best writers and directors knew me as “The Devil.” (Eickhoff)

 Works Cited

"Bertolt Brecht." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.

Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/78614/Bertolt-Brecht.>

Eickhoff, Stefan. Max Schreck-Gespenstertheater. Belleville, 2009. 575. Print.

"Enigmatic Max." Classic Horror-The Missing Link. Creepy Classics, Web. 2 Mar. 2012.

<http://www.classichorror.free-online.co.uk/max.htm>.

"Fanny Schreck-Normann." Film Zeit. Web. 2 Mar 2012.

<http://www.film-zeit.de/Person/47268/Fanny-SchreckNormann/>.

"MAX SCHRECK Biography." Find Biography. FindBiography[dot]org, Web. 2

 Mar. 2012. <http://www.findbiography.org/actors-and-actresses/max-schreck>.

"Nosferatu (1922)." Entertainment Magazine. Entertainment Magazine, Web. 2 Mar.

2012. <http://emol.org/movies/nosferatu/index.html>.

Pollack, Jesse. "Max Schreck-Biography." International Movie Database. amazon.com,

Web. 1 Mar. 2012. <http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0775180/bio>.

Scott, A. O. "FILM REVIEW; Son of 'Nosferatu,' With a Real-Life Monster."

New York Times. (2000): Print. <http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9C05E7DB1F38F93AA15751C1A9669C8B63&scp=4&sq=max schreck nosferatu&st=cse>.

Scott, Robert. "1920-1930." Roaring Twenties. 1920-30.com, n. d. Web. 2 Mar. 2012.

<http://www.1920-30.com/>.

"Speyer." Speyer.De. Web. 1 Mar. 2012.

<http://www.speyer.de/de/tourist?switch_language=en>.