German Actress Katharina Fecher Brings Her Dream Of Acting To Life!
This is German actress Anna Katharina Fecher, well known in Europe for her extensive television work in many popular German TV series and soaps. We recently caught up with her between her busy schedule, to find out more about her background –and to find out about her latest projects. Here is what she had to share:
When did you first get into performing?
I started acting when I was a small child performing in plays and musicals and I got ‘the bug’. Then I started working professionally at the age of seventeen and luckily got a lot of acting work quite quickly, as well as modeling and commercial work. I shot a movie called Empathie and played characters in different series like Anubis House (Das Haus Anubis), Good Times Bad Times (Gute Zeiten Schlechte Zeiten), All That Matters (Alles was zählt) and Bettys Diagnosis (Bettys Diagnose).
What inspired you to get into the entertainment industry?
My biggest inspiration was Leonardo DiCaprio in the movie The Basketball Diaries. I love the way he acts with such energy, passion, physical work and courage. When I saw his performance, I knew that’s what I wanted to do too.
What kind of training have you had?
I studied acting at the Art of Acting Drama School in Berlin, then later I did workshops in the Meisner technique — at the Actors Space in Berlin and had private coaching with Stephan Johannes Richter, Susanne Uge, Sophie Molitoris and the amazing Susan Batson.
What has been your favorite role to play so far?
My favorite role so far was Melanie Wendt. I played her in the series All That Matters [Alles was zählt] for a total of two and a half years. It was an amazing experience to play a role for that long and see her go through so many ups and downs- triumphs and failures. Melanie was a young woman who struggled a lot in life because she lost her parents when she was a teenager. She had her own troubles but she was tenacious and smart. She also forced people to see the error of their own actions by “showing them a mirror. She was a joy and a challenge to play, at the same time.
What has been one of the most exciting achievements of your career so far?
I think every single step in my life has helped me to become the person and performer I am now. I think all of it was important in some respect but the lead characters I played on long running German TV series were probably my most exciting achievements — particularly on All that Matters [Alles was zählt] and Anubis House [Das Haus Anubis]. The Anubis House has been produced in Antwerp. It was great to shoot a series in another country because I love to travel and to get to know new places. Also very exciting were some of the commercial campaigns I did for Burger King, Vodafone and Müller but in particular the 2014 Super Bowl commercial for Volkswagen was one of the highlights of my commercial work.
What projects do you have coming up?
After acting a lot in film and TV my next project is a play. It’s called Zickenzirkus which means something like Nonsense Circus in English. It’s a comedy and very funny, which I love to be a part of. It’s about four women- I love that too- who each have their desires and problems in life, but who, after much fighting and game playing, become firm friends. My character speaks with an accent from south Germany which sounds pretty funny.
After that, I am starting work on a one woman show in collaboration with Susan Batson at her studio in New York. This will be my first one woman show, which is both terrifying and exhilarating at the same time but I trust Susan completely. I know I’ll be in good hands.
I also, just shot my first short movie in the English language. That was great. The movie is called Conscious Consequences. The director was Julian Erksmeyer. I played one of three main roles and I’m excited because the movie will be shown in different film festivals.
Who would you most like to work with?
I would love to work with different actors and directors like Christoph Walz, Heike Makatsch, Leonardo DiCaprio, Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Krysten Ritter, Ryan Gosling, Angelina Jolie, Tom Hardy. Directors Woody Allen, Tarentino, Caspar Noe, Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola and many many more!
What are your plans for the future?
To keep working! I’d also like to do more theatre- nothing beats live theatre. But I do love film. So my plan for the future is acting!
What is your advice to aspiring performers?
I think what is really important is that even though you never feel ready or perfect, you need to make yourself be seen. Train your instrument hard to be an interesting, open personality. And fight for your dreams otherwise it will never become reality. It will always be a dream and everyone should live life not dream life!
