Moritz Bleibtreu: "Play your heart out and you'll be forgiven"

Playing the role of a hero does not appeal to Moritz Bleibtreu, as the actor favours the typical loser types. The 44-year-old portrayed these in movies like "Knockin' On Heaven's Door", "Soul Kitchen" or "Nicht mein Tag". His performances were so realistic, that he keeps getting awards for them. When it comes to football however, Moritz Bleibtreu can easily make an exception, as he easily sympathises with success of the Germany national team. The actor spoke with Niels Barnhofer in this DFB.de interview and talked about the losing gene, sweepers and his low-kick.

DFB.de: Mr. Bleibtreu, you once said: "The roles of heroes or constant winners don't interest me." Does that apply to your favourite football club as well?

Moritz Bleibtreu: (laughs) Are you suggesting that because I'm from Hamburg and sympathise with FC St. Pauli? I do have to say, that the slogan "born to lose" would by quite fitting for some football clubs.

DFB.de: So you stand by what you said?

Bleibtreu: Yes. In acting, the heroes are often fairly straight forward characters with little depth to them. They are used as dramatic elements to push the story forward. They don't have any real emotional development, which often makes them quite uninteresting for myself. When it comes to sport however, I often find myself supporting the underdog, especially in boxing. When one guy is smaller than the other, I always root for the small guy. Perhaps I do have a bit of the loser gene in me.

DFB.de: How about football?

Bleibtreu: My best mate is a Bayern fan. Coming from Hamburg myself, this often leads to many heated discussions. I'm simply someone who sides with the underdogs. Therefore, I think that FC St. Pauli are a very sympathetic club. But I never really dedicated myself to just one club.

DFB.de: Your quote from earlier continues: "You can often get much more out of small roles, because the characters are loveable, bizarre or slightly broken." Does that still sound like FC St. Pauli?

Bleibtreu: Yes, because FC St. Pauli means far more to some people than simply a football club. It's about standing up for something, for a certain idea or values.

DFB.de: Are there any parallels between acting and football?

Bleibtreu: Yes, quite a few actually. Jürgen Flimm (Director of Berlin's state opera), under whom I used to work in Hamburg's Thalia Theatre, is a huge football fan and a good friend of Otto Rehhagel. He would always come up with exciting similarities between football and acting.

DFB.de: For example?

Bleibtreu: Both require team effort. In order to make a good film, you need everyone to perform as well as they can in their role. Only if everyone works well in his or her specific role, can you make a good product. For the different positions in a film, you need different types of characters. You need a star who will take the ball, charge forward and then put it in the net without thinking twice like Arjen Robben. But you also need someone who stands further in the background, who dictates tactics, moves the ball around, contemplates how to build attacks and how best to save energy. You need a director or a coach, who sees everything from a different perspective. You need someone who takes over the organisational side of things, such as producers or managers. And last but not least you need an audience, which is fascinated by watching you do the things you do. So in that regard, you do have several parallels.

DFB.de: What is your position?

Bleibtreu: The classic sweeper. It's a position that no-one really plays anymore. But when the sweeper has received a good training, he can play basically anywhere in midfield or defence. He is not the one to rush into attacks and force his way through the opposition, but he is rather the guy who sits back and makes sure his team is organised properly. That's how I would describe myself.

DFB.de: Everyone knows your skills as an actor, but what about in football?

Bleibtreu: They are simply non-existent. For my entire life I was into combat sports. I started out as a young child and thus took some of that technique and combined it with football. When I try to kick a ball, it often looks like I'm executing a low-kick. It's a case of muscle memory, but in football that kick doesn't really work. I was never interested in team sports during my youth as I always enjoyed playing sports by myself. Combat sports and tennis were my favourites. I enjoy things where I could achieve things on my own. I was never really into football until I got older.

DFB.de: You never had a friend who got you excited for football?

Bleibtreu: I do and eventually he got me interested in the sport. I have a friend who came really close to playing professionally and he always made me do keep-ups but I was never any good at it. I don't think that football and I are meant to get along. But I do like watching it on the TV.

DFB.de: What about the Germany national team?

Bleibtreu: I watch their games, but I'm not someone who gets involved in all the discussions that surround their games - whether they had a poor performance against a poor opponent or so on. When something is at stake, the Germany football team can be counted on. I followed the 2014 World Cup in Brazil closely. It was a lot of fun and simply a great time. I always look forward to big events and I always hope that I'll have enough time and that I'm hopefully not in the middle of a shoot. If we are doing a shoot while the games are on, I make sure that they put a TV somewhere where I can watch the games. So I do make sure that I don't miss anything.

DFB.de: Are you tense while watching their games?

Bleibtreu: I do get emotional, but maintain a certain distance. At all times I can become rational and say that it doesn’t affect me. Obviously I want my favourite team to win, but the World won't stop spinning for me if they don't. For me it will always just be a game.

DFB.de: What is your best memory in regard to the Germany national team?

Bleibtreu: The 2006 World Cup in Germany had a lasting impact on me. It was the first time I watched many of the games. I was in the stadium for the quarter final against Argentina, the semi-final against Italy and in the final as well. I witnessed memorable games. The match with Argentina was simply amazing. I will never forget that encounter.

DFB.de: Are you looking forward to the European Championship?

Bleibtreu: These big tournaments are my thing. I'm glad that something will be taking place next year during the summer.

DFB.de: Will you be hoping that Germany can again take on the role of being the hero?

Bleibtreu: Of course, but I won't be upset if they don't. I think that's also a parallel to making movies. There are days when things work out and then there are days when everything isn't as easy. Sometimes everything just clicks, but on other days you just can't seem to get it going.

DFB.de: Are you able to forgive someone for a bad performance?

Bleibtreu: Obviously you are upset if the team you support loses. It becomes a bit easier when you notice that your team gave everything to prevent the defeat. That way you have respect for what they achieved, even if they did end up losing the match.

DFB.de: Is this something you have learned through experience?

Bleibtreu: I remember a round of 16 game at the 2006 World Cup: England vs. Ecuador. It was the game, in which Beckham was sick on the pitch and it happened right in front of us. It was the moment, when all prejudices aimed at Beckham became irrelevant within one second. He covered a lot of ground that day and sitting behind the TV you don't realise how tiring it is. Only when you're in the stadium as well, can you see what performance he produced. You see him make one 100% sprint into one direction, before turning around and sprinting down to the other end of the pitch. It's impressive. As long as you play your heart out and do everything you can, a defeat should be forgivable. If you do something with passion and love, it becomes really difficult to criticise - even if someone else ends up being the winner.

DFB.de: We can hear the sympathy for the tragic hero in that statement.

Bleibtreu: Yes, it always there!