Actor Thomas Heinze (58) is the new "old man".
This Friday (March 24) he solves his first case in the police station in Munich.
In an interview with our newspaper, he reveals why the title role in the ZDF series classic awakens nostalgic feelings in him.
“What industry?” the taxi driver asks his elegant passenger on the back seat.
"Murder and manslaughter," he replies and casually slides his sunglasses over his "outrageously blue eyes" (quote from the colleagues).
Actor Thomas Heinze is the new "old man".
For the title role in the ZDF cult crime series, the 58-year-old has been commuting between the Spree and the Isar for a few months.
This Friday (March 24) at 8.15 p.m. Heinze will take over as chief inspector Caspar Bergmann of Munich Homicide Commission II. In an interview with our newspaper, the native of Berlin reveals why he is happy to be back in Bavaria.
Mr. Heinze, yesterday it was “Alone Among Women” (Sönke Wortmann's 1991 cinema comedy) and today it's “The Old Man” – do you sometimes wonder where the time has gone?
Thomas Heinze:
(Laughs.) You ask yourself that all the time – especially when you have children who were just two years old and are now of age in front of you.
But although I'm playing the "old man" now, I'm "alone among women" again.
Is correct! Stephanie Stumph, Yun Huang and Sidonie von Krosigk complete their team. You are a smart newcomer with a dark suit and sunglasses – a bit like ZDF Bond.
Heinze:
That's flattering!
(Laughs) There will actually be a bit more action in the future.
Above all, however, we will tell very different stories that take place in different milieus.
Inspector Caspar Bergmann is a man you will only get to know better over time.
A widower, with a grown daughter and granddaughter who will play an even greater role in the future.
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Actor Thomas Heinze begins a new era as "The Old Man"
© dpa
TV thrillers are a dime a dozen. Do you have any idea why "The Old One" was able to survive for so long?
Heinze:
On the one hand, it's definitely down to the actors who have embodied this character over the years.
But I also think that the creators of this series have always had a pretty good sense of the context in which the series is set.
With every change of personnel, "Der Alte" reinvented himself a bit.
What (childhood) memories do you have of this classic?
Heinze:
I was socialized as an American through my father.
We always had the TV on.
As a child I was allowed to watch a lot because my parents didn't see it as critically as other families did back then.
So I saw "The Commissioner" early on or Siegfried Lowitz as "The Old Man".
I found that really exciting as a child and teenager.
You know Munich from your time as an acting student. How has the city changed in your eyes?
Heinze:
I'm from Berlin, a city that changes even if you're only away for a week.
And then you drive to Munich and have the impression that time has stood still.
Except for the fact that there are other cars on the streets, everything looks and feels much the same as before.
When I started filming here last summer, it reminded me a lot of my time at drama school.
Beautiful memories?
Heinze:
The time was great.
The attitude towards life, the people.
I don't mourn the loss of acting school that much.
I couldn't do much with many approaches.
What would you like to say to young Thomas if you could give him some advice based on your experience today?
Heinze:
It's difficult because I did something at drama school that I've taken to heart my whole life - to listen to my feelings and my instincts and to believe in myself.
That helped me a lot with my first work directed by Dieter Wedel.
It wasn't difficult for me to draw boundaries and say: up to here and no further.
So my advice to my former self would be: stick with it.
You commute between Munich and your hometown for the crime series – do you manage to live here instead of just working?
Heinze:
For me, acting is living to the fullest.
But I know you are targeting my free time, and I realize that these are very work-intensive weeks in Munich.
After the end of shooting or on the weekends I go through the texts for the next day.
Then I read something or watch TV and go to bed because I usually have to get up early in the morning.
But it's ok like that.
I find that fun.
What are you looking forward to when you return to Berlin?
Heinze:
First of all, of course, to my family, my wife, my children and my friends.
And then I particularly look forward to sleeping in, because that's something I'm passionate about, but which doesn't go so well with my career aspirations.
(Laughs.)
