Few German actors are as well known as Moritz Bleibtreu. After films such as Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door, Run Lola Run or Lammbock – everything done by hand, several generations regard him as a well-deserved greatness of German cinema. Even with Brad Pitt he was in front of the camera in World War Z. Now he is in the cinema in the romantic comedy Caveman.
The adaptation of Rob Becker’s cult play revolves around Bleibtreu’s character, Bobby, who seeks advice from a caveman about his collapsing marriage. We talked to the acting star about gender clichés, obsession with cleanliness and the turning point in his career spoken.
Moritz Bleibtreu on Caveman and his career: “Now my life will be different”
Caveman – Teaser Trailer 5 (German) HD
Moviepilot: Caveman is about the many small and big differences between men and women. What’s your theory as to why this is still THE topic in comedy?
Moritz Bleibtreu: Because love as a theme is always alive. It doesn’t go with and it doesn’t go without, that’s why we’ve been wrecking our heads for centuries and writing so many songs and so many books about it. And if it’s not man and woman, then there are other relationship constructs that have their own norms.
Constantine Film
Spouses Claudia (Laura Tonke) and Bobby (Moritz Bleibtreu)
Your character Bobby fights for his marriage, feels inferior to his wife and discusses his problems with his inner Neanderthal. You are married yourself. How much do you discover of yourself in him?
Not much. Since I was brought up in a very unbourgeois family constellation, all these norms and rules and role allocations are alien to me. I know that from my friends, of course, but it doesn’t really happen in my own life.
How much truth do you think there is in such role clichés and what is total nonsense?
One cliché sucks, a thousand is good – that’s Caveman. What Rob Becker describes in his play template is not stupid. It’s just never a justification for things being the way they are. I have with Laura [Tonke] often stood on the set and thought: “Wow, in this situation I would react a lot more like the woman than the guy.“Like the cleanliness thing when Laura’s character stands in the bathroom and yells, “Don’t touch, that’s for the guests!”, that could have been from me [lacht]. I hate lime stains on faucets, it drives me crazy. My wife doesn’t see them at all. All in all, I would see myself more often with the woman than with the guy. So some clichés work, just not always as expected.
Buena Vista
Moritz Bleibtreu (right) in Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door
You have played many different roles in your career so far. What do you think has been the most important role of your entire career so far?
Abdul in Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door. Today it is no longer comprehensible what it was back then [1997] kicked off. What Til [Schweiger] accomplished with this film was from another planet. For German cinema there was the time before and after Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door. Telling it like that was completely new. It was zero German. Suddenly, cars were driving through corn fields and there was shooting with shotguns and machine guns. Abdul was practically the birthplace of ethno comedy. Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door was the only moment in my life when I got a role and I knew, “Now my life will be different. Now I can afford a decent apartment.” And that’s how it happened.
You are an actor and director, most recently for the film Cortex. Which role do you like the most?
I was born an actor and never wanted to do anything else. That is still the case today. Directing is also a lot of fun for me and I’m working on something new right now. But the more important work is the writing. I noticed that with Cortex too. After too much hustle and bustle, I like to be in the quiet little room again and think up new nonsense.
The 10 biggest streaming films of 2023 on Netflix, Amazon & Co.
In this installment of our Moviepilot podcast, Stream Browsing, we take a look at the big movies coming exclusively to Netflix, Amazon, Disney+ and Apple TV+ this year. The result is a list of ten special recommendations.
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From the sci-fi epic to the potential Oscar nominee, everything is included. The talents gathered are particularly impressive. In 2023 we can expect new movies from Martin Scorsese, David Fincher and Zack Snyder in the streaming space, while Gal Gadot, Leonardo DiCaprio, Henry Cavill and Chris Hemsworth will be in front of the camera.
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