Henriette confurius “didn’t go to school for stage acting,” a departure from the “normal” route to screen or stage. I did not want to learn acting. I learned how to make hats and tailor clothes, and then I learned how to restore furniture. It’s my hobby, and I love working with my hands.
Henriette Confurius, a girl who grew up in a rural area, found school a “disaster.” She left after 10th grade and moved to Ireland at 17. I lived in a small town, and worked on a farm. It was beautiful. It was very beautiful. I learned Irish English quickly” (she still has a lovely voice). “And how to drive a tractor. I returned to school and was awarded a diploma from a very strict school. It was a great feeling to know that I could do it.
In 2009, she returned to Berlin and filmed the TV-movies EICHMANNS ENDE – LIEBE, VERRAT and TOD; HERRENABEND, for the TATORT crime drama series; and the feature film AMEISEN GEHEN andERE WEGE. Then, in 2012, DIE HOLZBARONIN was a two-parter directed and produced by Markus O. Rosenmuller, which won the Rockie Award at the Banff World Media Festival 2014. She then moved to Vienna, where she spent the following two years.
She says, “It was a very basic apartment without heating or running water.” “In the middle winter. Showering at the local pool quickly lost its appeal, so “I found another spot and also began learning Viennese netting.” She then shows me a photo her latest furniture project, which is a woven, cane-backed, child’s seat. I had a great time in Vienna, but soon felt the need to return to Berlin.
“The name’s a mix of confusion and furious.” Henriette Confurius laughs about having to first peel off layers against cycling through Berlin in the Berlin cold. It was like looking at an automated Russian matryoshka doll. The diminutive young lady opposite is confused and furious, but they are not the same thing. You are a mature, calm, self-assured, funny, and well-informed.
Confurius was born in Berlin to Dutch parents. She is the middle child of an author father and a theatrical actress mother. I was always surrounded with theater and film people. I got my first part in a film by Uli Konig when I was eight years old.” Henriette confurius first film memories began a few years later, “when I did Anna Wilds first three films, a short called NACHMITTAG in SIEDLISKO and BALLET IST AUSGEFALLEN, and then MEIN ERSTES WILDER.”
Acting took priority again and she was the lead in Dominik Graf’s BELOVED SISTERS. She explains that she had begun acting at age eight. It took her some time to ask if I wanted it. Then, I did it. School suffered a bit because I was so young and had to feel a lot of responsibility. I felt the urge to try new things. However, I was always back to acting sooner than later.”
Confurius continues to repeat this pattern: “I know I want to be an actress.” Although I love my job, I like to be able to take a break every now and again. That is what I need and I want to try new things.”
She elaborates, “I guess that I’m not exactly the most comfortable person within the film industry.” I tried to avoid press events and film events. Acting is a great way to forget about yourself, especially when you have a trusted director. The work becomes the thing. I learned to push past and overthrow boundaries.
Confurius is a fan of historical drama. “It’s exciting to take a time-trip to tell a story, learn some history and work in an appropriate setting. She was Schiller’s spouse.” In 2007, Confurius was also in DIE WOLFE. “It was about a group called The Wolves living in Berlin after World War II. I was one of them, and took singing lessons to prepare for the role. It was amazing and I was amazed that I could actually sing.
Confurius loves to identify with characters when it comes to roles, “to understand why they do what they do,” so in FOG IN AUGUST (Kai Wessel 2015), “I played a nurse that euthanizes Nazi Germany’s children. It was a common question that I received about whether it was scary to take on a role such as this. I did not condemn her at the beginning, but tried to understand why she does what he does. It is easy to point out that she did something wrong later. She continues. “If you only say that someone is good or evil, then you end up creating a cartoon character.”
She is first given a script, which Henriette Confurius reads, and then she begins to color it. She says, “It’s true,” and she then explains that I divide the role into different colors. I mark the scenes in which my character is deep, cares about something, or free. (That’s yellow). Fear and self-suppression are red and funny is blue. This helps you quickly identify the emotions. Then she meets the director who has a totally different idea. It can change so quickly. I need someone who can help me and not take over the job. When I trust the director, I can change colors so that yellow can become blue.
She is a keen cinemagoer and cites Philip Seymour Hoffmann, who she considers an actor who impressed her. However, she also finds him frightening. Many of the actors who impress me also scares me. Joaquin Phoenix is a great example of someone who gives everything to the role. Natalie Portman is a great example of this feeling. However, Natalie Portman can also take care herself.
She has a wish list for a science-fiction film. “I’d love one of those,” she said. Her hobbies and interests keep her busy: “I like to travel alone, often where there is hiking.” I enjoy cycling and I love to be active. Painting is something I enjoy as well. My father was a great painter and did a lot of things with us when we were children. Don’t forget furniture restoration.
She was also nominated for the Bavarian Television Award in the same category as her role in TANNBACH – SCHICKSAL INES DORFES, and won the Bambi 2015 Award for Best Actress. Alexander Dierbach directed the episodes, which will air in January 2018. “This is the story about a German village between 1945 and 1968,” she explained. “In the first part, I was a 17-year-old girl. The last part was my 40th birthday and I was the mother of three kids.
“The Iron Curtain has divided the village. She continues, “One side builds socialism and the other doesn’t.” There are no good or poor people. It is all about the village’s history, from many perspectives. People act according to what they have experienced and believed in the past. I was not born before the Wall fell so I didn’t know what it was like. For example, my grandparents never spoke about the past.
The surreal begins… I was given a gorgeous dress and picked up by a limousine. The more I got closer to the whole thing, the more I wanted to stay. I was so embarrassed that I chose to wear jeans and a Tshirt. Security then told me to stand behind the rope and get off the red carpet. Then I won and had to take the stage. I was so unprepared that I forgot to thank all those who helped me on TANNBACH. It was not my best performance, and I am sorry. But it was a great honor and I love my little Golden Bambi. I’ll do better next time.”
Another lesson that I learned from my own experience, but with the right conclusions. That is Henriette Confurius ability to continuously shiratorizawa improve her personal and professional performance, or Kaizen, as the Japanese refer to it. It is now time to get off all the layers and ride her bike. There is an urgent child’s chair in need of her attention.
