She can hardly believe it herself: "I'm still totally overwhelmed, somehow speechless and at the same time I could scream with happiness!" Says Helena Zengel when she was told that she was nominated for the Golden Globes.
The twelve-year-old Berliner can hope for a prize as the best supporting actress in the Netflix film “Neues aus der Welt”.
We talked to her about Hollywood and the joy of gaming.
Helena Zengel had her breakthrough with "Systemsprenger", in which she played a difficult-to-educate girl
Helena Zengel already has other film offers, but is not allowed to reveal anything
Helena Zengel would love to film with Jane Fonda or Lady Gaga
That's how we know them.
Appearance Helena Zengel in the film "Neues aus der Welt", which starts on February 10th on Netflix: she screams, rages, bites.
Wild and unpredictable as in “Systemsprenger”, her theatrical breakthrough in 2019, she wants to fend off her teammate.
His name is Tom Hanks and he's one of the biggest stars in Hollywood.
Helena is twelve - and already a little star.
“Variety” put the girl from Berlin on the prestigious “Actors to Watch” list for 2020. A clear recommendation from the US magazine to all moviegoers: folks, remember your name!
At this year's Golden Globes, Helena Zengel has the chance to win a prize for best supporting actress;
as announced yesterday, she is nominated.
If you meet the Berliner for a digital interview these days, it becomes clear within seconds, despite the annoying distance from the screen: This Kleene is aware of her impact.
Does she feel pressured by all the advance praise?
It's true, she played the difficult-to-train little fruit Benni in Nora Finkscheidt's award-winning “Systemsprenger” very convincingly.
But awards like “Variety” or a possible Golden Globe point towards the future - the film world expects great things.
"Tom Hanks is a gentleman"
“No, that doesn't put me under any pressure - I'm just happy about it,” she replies like a shot from the gun.
That fits in with her new film in a western setting, which has got the German film industry, which is not very self-confident about Hollywood, into excitement.
Helena!
Turns!
With!
Tom!
Hanks!
Zengel has to answer the same questions over and over again: What is it like to work with a star like Tom?
She does it routinely, with childish understatement: yes, he is a “giant actor”, “really a superstar with whom very few have the chance to film”, but he makes it easy for you.
“Because he's funny, he's nice, he's a gentleman, he always has a joke in his pocket and never even answered.” And then a cheeky grin: She didn't think it would work out so well between the two of them - but a real friendship developed.
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Her breakthrough: As Benni in "Systemsprenger", Helena Zengel impressed in 2019 - and won the German Film Prize for best leading actress, among other things.
© dpa
Again Zengel gives the unapproachable tomboy in “Neues aus der Welt”.
She plays Johanna, a child raised by the Kiowa Indian people who lost everything after an attack on the tribe.
A veteran (Tom Hanks) takes them on and takes them on a trip across the country to see survivors of their actual family.
It is not surprising that director Paul Greengrass wanted Helena for the part of Johanna.
She delivers what he noticed in "Systemsprenger": archaic rawness.
"I feel good with action"
The strongest moments, however, are those when she doesn't screech and lash out.
Instead, he sits in silence and appraises the world around him with big blue eyes.
There is something impenetrable about it.
What does this girl think of the man whose language she doesn't understand?
Without words, Zengel sometimes puts cold rejection in her gaze, then curiosity;
but also in the scenes in which she and her savior build a little closeness to each other, a barrier seems to remain.
This child has had bad experiences and is unable to trust others.
So basically a character like Benni from her previous film.
But here, too, she emphasizes, Zengel does not have any worries that such roles will be constantly cast in the future.
“Nope, I'm comfortable with action,” she says.
She is already very professional: “I don't think it's bad to be pigeonholed in this category because it suits me best and I like it the most.
And when you say that I'm good at action, it makes sense that I stick with it. "
She wants to keep her naturalness
One worries a little whether potential could be wasted in this way. Early fame doesn't always go well. Helena doesn't want to go to a classical drama school. “Because I want to keep this naturalness and authenticity,” she says. No, in truth she says "authenticity" and speaks of the "ressigeur". Because no twelve-year-old has to be able to pronounce it correctly. One wishes Helena Zengel that she retains her naturalness, but still has the opportunity to learn even more. For them and for the cinema world. Your name is noted.