Stefan Woelk

INTERVIEW IN THE GIESSEN DAY NEWSPAPER
01/02/2020

How Stefan Woelk from
Heuchelheim came to the film by Stefan Schaal


When a German soldier appears in Russian war films, Stefan Woelk is often in his uniform. The actor from Heuchelheim applies for films worldwide via Facebook. The canvas is black. Then a loud chatter penetrates through the cinema. The next moment the screen glows brightly, the film "The Pilot" begins. Stefan Woelk's face can be seen in a close-up. "We'll be reaching Moscow soon," he says, sitting in a tank driving through the Russian tundra. "We are celebrating Christmas in Berlin," he calls into a radio. Woelk is an actor.
The Heuchelheimer has got his first roles in Russian war films in recent years. "It's true," says Woelk. "From a Russian perspective, I often play the bad guy." The 41-year-old sits in a café in Gießen and cuts a chocolate croissant into small pieces. Woelk smiles. He is grateful for the roles and his entry into the film industry, even if he has played a Nazi several times. "This is a niche for me." It's been six years since he made his first film in Karelia near the Russian-Finnish border, 2000 kilometers away from home. "It's still quiet at dawn", the action-packed remake of a classic from the 70s. The Heuchelheimer plays a German parachutist who fights a Russian unit of women. Woelk runs through forests, swears and screams, in one scene water is pouring down from a rain machine. He has already shot at minus 26 degrees in Siberia. "Everything freezes there." He is well aware that the films in which he plays the Nazi aim to strengthen the Russian patriot soul. But how does the Heuchelheimer get these roles?

"Somehow I have to look quite German for the Russians," he says. He organizes his acting career via Facebook, among other things. "There are quite a few groups for actors and models", there he will find numerous international offers and tenders for film roles. "Because I've also been working as a semi-professional model since 2006, I had good pictures right from the start. That helped me a lot." And so he successfully applied for a Russian film by director Renat Davletyarov six years ago. He got the role as a German soldier after another actor had dropped out. "I was very lucky." Woelk was extremely nervous on the first day of shooting, he also doesn't speak Russian, he spoke to colleagues in English and to translators. "I acted like I had a clue. As an actor, you just have to sell yourself."


Woelk spent his childhood in Biebertal. The mother was a nurse, the father salesman. After graduating from the Herderschule in Gießen in the late 1990s, he studied facility management at the Technical University. But he knew early on that he would never manage buildings. He worked, drove out pizza, worked in the shelter and waited in pubs. At some point he came across videos of brutal caged fighting on the Internet. He discovered the mixed martial arts (MMA) sport. At the first training session in Wetzlar, he broke two ribs. But he continued to train, dreaming of an MMA career. He fought seven fights, after the last he had to knock out. be carried out of the ring. The dream was soon over. "But I learned discipline," he says. "And what it means to endure pain."

Back then he found small jobs as a model in social networks, posing for photographers. And he discovers acting for himself. In Frankfurt he is completing part-time drama training at a private academy for three years. Woelk sees it as an advantage that he was a career changer at the end of 30. There is a lot of blindness and a lot of lies in the industry. You have to live with empty promises. Thanks to his life experience, he can handle it well. In search of the major film role, Woelk applies all over the world. He works with agencies in Portugal and Spain as well as in London, Istanbul, Moscow and Cape Town. He regularly takes part in so-called e-castings: He then speaks for roles online via video stream. Film with Lars Eidinger He played a master baker in the Austrian film "Apprentice of Time", he was also seen in the mini series "War of Dreams" on arte. Smaller speaking roles in international films make you money. He couldn't live on that yet. Woelk earns his buns with advertising and image films. He recently stood in front of the camera for a training video of a pharmacy app.


Next year Woelk will be seen in the movie "Close Shot" - alongside Lars Eidinger, who was the last GDR execution victim, economist Dr. Werner Teske, plays. It is a small role. The Heuchelheimer is still proud to play in a German movie. "It looks quite good in the vita." He's not playing a Nazi this time. But a Stasi official who storms Teske's house. "Shut up, come along," says Woelk in the film and leads Eidinger away. "Another bad guy," admits Woelk. Then he adds: "I already have a striking face when I prepare myself."

https://www.giessener-allgemeine.de/kreis-giessen/heuchelheim-ort848764/stefan-woelk-heuchelheim-film-13412818.html