An Interview with Volker Bruch from ‘Babylon Berlin’

Volker Bruch as Inspector Gereon Rath in Season 4 of ‘Babylon Berlin’. (Photo Courtesy of MHz Choice.)

Volker Bruch is a highly accomplished actor that has appeared in many notable projects across the silver and small screen. Currently he stars as Inspector Gereon Rath in the highly beloved television series, Babylon Berlin, and we here at NTG had the distinct honor of sitting down with Volker to discuss his experiences working on the show, and season four.  
 
John Betancourt: I would like to start by getting to know what it was that attracted you to this role in the first place.
 
Volker Bruch: Well, I mean, first, first of all, it was the huge budget, and it was, it was clear that this is something, this is something special. But Tom Tykwer and Hank Handloegten were in the lead, it had so much tension. It was so promising from the beginning, even before I read the scripts, to be honest, and when I read them, it was, it was clear that this character is so it's, I could identify immediately with him because it was someone who it is so important to stay true to himself, and which was so hard for him to do in this new environment. He's new in Berlin, and he's just trying to figure stuff out. And yeah, it would become impossible. And yeah, it was just a thrill to read, and it was not so easy. Because when I had the casting, it was not so easy in the beginning, because they wanted me to do this so badly, and I wanted it so badly that we were kind of stuck in this… “We all want this,” but it didn't really, you know, it didn't flow. So, we were all disappointed after the first meeting. And after a few weeks, they called me and said, like, “What's going on?” And I said, “I don't know. Let's meet again. Let's do it again.” And then we met again, and Liv (Lisa Fries) was on board then, and we, we were, we were playing together, Liv and me, and this was, like, the relief, because it was like, “Okay, that's it. That's really, that's what we are looking for.” And it was so much fun. And Liv, is so great that, you know, it just felt so natural. And, yeah, then we started.
 
John Betancourt: Obviously every actor out there wants to get you know that that definitive, amazing role that they can really sink their teeth into. And it seems like this is that one for you, if I may be so bold. But I'm also very curious to what it means as an actor to be able to play this enriching character for so many seasons now.
 
Volker Bruch: It's interesting, because, you know, they're different things that add up on this character, which I mean, obviously the scripts, which I was so excited every time to read them and to see what, the writers have thought for him to experience and I mean, this is something, and the time and all the other characters. But then, of course, it's also what I experienced, you know, while not shooting and while not being on set. And I mean it's been years. Now, it's been eight years we've been shooting so, and this is so interesting, because it's after, I remember starting to shoot the second season was like, was so strange, because it, it's when we had, you know, costume fitting and everything. And Babylon Berlin has been big already from the first season. So my view on Babylon was very on, on Gereon Rath, was really like an outside perspective, like of this guy from this show, you know, which had not much to do with me, because it's been two years and I've been watching it, and people were talking with me about it, so that was really, I felt like, stealing the costume of Gereon Rath when I was putting it on. So, it was really strange. I looked in the mirror and was like, Carnival, you know, like me being in this costume, and it didn't feel right, but I'm, yeah, I'm very, very thankful that when we started shooting this, I mean, it just disappeared, and we were so focused on the work, and it, it all, it all ran away again. So, this is really something that's like, step by step by step. The big thing is, like, if you, if you look at everything now, it's very complex. But it's, of course, it's little steps and day by day and scene by scene and everything. And it really adds up to this complex puzzle, which I don't even understand. You know, I played it.
 
John Betancourt: From an acting standpoint, there's got to be some challenges that accompany the work that you've done, because Rath goes on such a crazy journey in every single season, and obviously Season Four has some immediate surprises for audiences to enjoy. I'm very curious, as an actor, how tough that is to sometimes reconcile, because what you do is so authentic. I mean, everything we see from Rath feels so real. What kind of challenges are into in creating some of that authenticity?
 
Volker Bruch: It's really the most dramatic scenes and the most difficult scenes are the most important scenes, of course, to make this, to make this this gap, or make this complexity, you know, to make it happen. So, when I read the scripts and I'm like, “Wow, this is good,” you know, because if he falls on the floor, and he goes through hell, this is something, of course, you want, because you can only rise from there and, I think the only thing that I try to stay true to, is that I don't want to know what's going to happen when I play my scenes, you know, it's always just the scene, and it's nothing more. It's not, it's not the before, it's not the after, it's just the scene. And this, this really worked out so good. Because you only work on one, one puzzle piece at a moment, you know? And thanks to the to the great authors and script writers, they you know, it adds up to something much bigger and much more beautiful that you could imagine and that you could play. Because if you try to play this, you're lost. You have no chance. It's going to be everything and nothing. And it's not going to work out, it's not going to be sharp, and it's not going to be precise, and it has to be bigger than, than yourself.
 
John Betancourt: That explains a lot then, because we are then enjoying a raw moment, which is perfect. And speaking of that, I mean obviously, I hear passion in your voice, all the excitement. What have you enjoyed the most so far about being able to play Rath?
 
Volker Bruch: Well, it's the mixtures of things we're doing, because if you know, I like the very intense dialogues that we have, but then we have these dancing scenes, which are so much fun, and are just, you know, it's just the bodies being thrown around and then, we have these, these moments where there's no dialogue at all, and which are also great, because it's just, you just trust your body to do the right thing, and you throw yourself into the moments. And I mean, we have these, the sets we walk on in the morning. It's crazy. It's like, you can't believe what you what you seeing. And this is also helpful, because you just, you don't have to play anymore. You just put on your suit, and you're just being thrown in, and you just trust on the work of everybody else. And you're just curious and see what happens. Well, the fighting scenes, they're so, I mean, I love those fights, because it's just, it's also like a dance, where you have your partner, and you, just rumble and have this scenarios where you, where you fight yourself through and it's exhausting, and I love these sweaty things, and where the emotions are… you don't have to produce anything, because it's, it's all just there, and it's all just, yeah, very powerful.
 
John Betancourt: Now this is a show that really has resonated with audiences. I mean, like you said yourself, people were all about season one, all over it. I'm late to the party, but again, I've been watching and binging, and I cannot get enough of this. I'm very curious, just from your perspective, since you do kind of have some of that internal but also you mentioned yourself, kind of that outside view of it, why do you think this show resonates so well with fans around the world?
 
Volker Bruch: Well, it's an interesting time where the story is set. It's, obviously… there's a lot of pressure, and I think it's good, it's good soil for good stories, because it's so intense, and you don't know what's gonna happen. You know, it's not the perspective we have now where we know where this leads to, I mean, this is something that maybe it gets our interest, but that's not something that is, that's important for the characters, because they don't know. They just, you know, try to make the best of their situation. And I think this is what these this series takes very seriously that they don't, you know, don't try to make the people believe that they know what's going to happen. That's very important to take the characters for what they are and what they know at this moment, and, yeah, that's brilliantly done. But the tension, of course, I mean, it’s everything. It's the… wild west in Berlin.
 
John Betancourt: Obviously, Season Four has some, again, some big twists and turns. We're not going to spoil them here, because that would be, that'd be cruel. But I kind of feel like Season Four is perhaps a very relevant piece of work, especially now more than ever since we all kind of have our concerns about the world, what do you ultimately hope audiences’ kind of take away from this particular season of storytelling?
 
Volker Bruch: I don't know… that's very personal, and that's, I think something that is going to be very personal for the viewer as well, because it might be too easy to make conclusions, you know, and just try to take them and put them like, put them on today, and say it's the same thing, because it's never exactly the same. But what I learned from it, or what I try to take with me personally, is that I try to stay true to myself, you know, and try to say what's on my mind, and not to be intimidated by, you know, powers that, that I think are bigger than me. Because if you stay true to your heart and yourself, uh, no one can hurt you, and this is so important and so profound, and so, I mean, this sounds romantic, but I think this is really, really important.
 
John Betancourt: And then obviously, just from a more global perspective, because it's always a big, sweeping season, and always a beautiful season, what are you excited for audiences to experience in general, when they get to watch season four?
 
Volker Bruch: I mean, it is good entertainment, you know, I mean, and that's what I like on when I watch something, I don't want to be taught anything. I don't want to be, you know, if I learn something from it. That's something very different, you know. But I don't want, you know, if I… see intention or feel intention of someone trying to put something on me, I'm off, you know. I don't want to be bothered. So, and I think this is really just good entertainment. And its very deep characters, who, who all make sense, and who, and I always like conflicts the most when I have characters that I understand all of them, and still, there's massive conflict. You know? I mean, if you because, if you have the bad guys where you say, “Oh, these are the fucking idiots, they don't get anything,” and then you have the good guys who you identify with, and you fight against evil, that's so boring. And it's not true. I mean, it's not true, there are no bad guys, if you want. There are only guys who fight what they think are right, you know? And the perspective makes something good or bad. So that's what I like here, that everyone is authentic for what they think is the most important thing in life. And they smash, they smash on each other. And what happens is, is just, you know, it's very interesting to watch.
 
John Betancourt: The last question that I have for you today, what are you most proud of when it comes to your work on this show?
 
Volker Bruch: Well, I think it's something that I could not have imagined at the beginning, that this character, would become so complex, because this is really something you cannot... it's really something I can only look at from this perspective now and say, “Wow, this is like, how did this add up, you know, how did this add up to be a picture that is so, so complex,” and it's really, of course, the work of the screenwriters who, like, put this stuff all in. But of course, also it's like being in this moment where we were talking before, you know, these small puzzle pieces, you know, with where every day and every scene that we shot was like, “Okay, this is this, and this is that, and this is that,” and to see that something becomes bigger, bigger than yourself, like, because so many people work on it, and everyone has a different vision, but that it ends up to be something beautiful, is just really… yeah… that’s amazing.
 
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

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