I wont say its name, she says archly, because that would be advertising.
I just love it, Huller says admiringly, turning her head for another look.
These people are all making the same movement, as you could see.
Sandra Hüller in ‘Anatomy of a Fall.‘Neon/Everett Collection
But everybody is doing it completelydifferently.
They have the same task, but you could see each personality in the way theyre doing it.
I love it so much.
Hüller inAnatomy of a Fall.Neon/Everett Collection
Its like theyre almostflying.
It explains a lot about Huller and her craft.
For Huller, it seems lightningcanstrike twice.
Which one came first?
I thinkThe Zone of Intereststarted in August 21 and we finishedAnatomy of a Fallin May 22.
DEADLINE: Lets start withThe Zone of Interest.
How did you get involved with that?
HULLER: The casting director, the late Simone Bar, sent me two pages of the script.
Its sometimes a big secret when directors from other countries come to Germany.
We dont get any details about them or the project, just pages.
Most of the time we have to do a self-tape, which is very painful to me.
I really dont know how to do this.
Im not a digital native.
So, she invited me to a casting.
And then I learned what it was about, and I was even more hesitant.
Sandra Huller as Hedwig Hoss, the wife of Nazi Rudolf Hoss inThe Zone of Interest.
DEADLINE: Did it’s crucial that you be persuaded?
I definitely wouldnt have wanted to be part of anything like that.
DEADLINE: You shot on location, next door to what is now the Auschwitz museum.
What kind of experience was that for you as an actor?
HULLER: Well, as an actor, I didnt find [the acting] very hard.
Hedwig Hoss doesnt live a heavy life.
For her, everything is really easy.
It is so incredibly generous of them.
That was exhausting, in a way.
The hardest work was in not letting my own experience affect the process of playing Hedwig Hoss.
DEADLINE: Could you talk a little about Jonathans methods and how he directed you?
Theres no pressure, its more of an invitation, which is very loving and very kind.
Thats how I felt.
He makes you grow.
DEADLINE: Hes quite famous for adapting books and scripts, then taking them in a completely different direction.
What did you think when you saw the movie?
Was it the movie you thought you were making?
We also never had access to the monitors, so we never saw any material.
But, as I said, his way of working is very transparent.
He walked us through everything that he wanted to do with it.
Some scenes werent in there anymore, but thats normal.
I didnt sit there and think, Whats this!?
No, not at all.
DEADLINE: Do you have a favorite Jonathan Glazer film?
HULLER: I dont know, all of them.
I mean, I sawSexy Beastwhen it came out, which is a really long time ago.
I must rewatch it.
But they touch me in ways I cant describe.
I love the questions that they raise.
I can sit with them for hours, days, months.
DEADLINE: When didAnatomy of a Fallcome along?
HULLER: I think Justine sent me the script in 2020 or something.
And it was the finished script.
She just asked me if I wanted to be a part of it.
It was a very simple decision.
I said yes the next day, I think.
DEADLINE: Its a big part.
Were you ever daunted by it?
In a way, you are the movie.
HULLER: [Crossly] Oh no, thats not true.
Its not that Im fishing [for compliments], its really not.
So, Im so glad I met these people, really.
DEADLINE: What was the initial hook of the movie for you?
But it felt so modern, unlike anything that Id ever seen and read before.
It was too complicated for me, because I didnt have any idea of the corporate world or whatever.
But withAnatomy of a Fall, I found it very challenging and very personal at the same time.
I dont know, whats the English word formutisch?
Bold, daring, whatever.
Yeah, its a bold choice to be this precise and this merciless in describing a relationship.
It was something that I found very, very appealing.
It drew me to it, toward it, inside of it.
Is it confusing to have a script that is so non-linear?
To me, that is so similar to life, in a way.
No ones life is like a linear experience.
For example, some people only find out something [life-changing] about their parents when theyre 60.
These kinds of flashback things happen to us every day.
Its complicated, all the time.
Maybe Im doing something wrong, but this is my life experience.
So, it wasnt hard.
It was the opposite.
It made it easier for me to be a part of it.
DEADLINE:In Cannes, there was the great discussion of whether the character was guilty or not.
Has that pursued you?
HULLER: Its part of the conversation, definitely.
Some people ask me about motherhood and what I think about this particular mother that I play.
Some people are judgmental, but only a few.
They just dont do that.
They just go home and say, Ah, I wasted my time.
DEADLINE: IsAnatomy of a Fallthe biggest project youve done in English so far?
HULLER: I starred in another one.
It was a Dutch film by Nanouk Leopold calledBrownian Movement[2010].
That was all in English.
But, yeah, I dont think that was such a big challenge for me.
I mean, Justine and her editor, Laurent Senechal, put a lot of work into this balance.
DEADLINE: Howdid you become an actor in the first place?
HULLER: I didnt have so many hobbies as a child.
I wasnt part of a sports team or whatever.
I tried to write poems.
Its really something I would love to do, but I cant.
I felt that it could be something for me.
I was 17 at that time.
I said, Im going to try, and if it doesnt work, its not for me.
And then from that moment on, it went very quickly.
DEADLINE:What inspired you about theater?
What kind of productions did you enjoy?
So, I may as well relax, and not pretend that Im in control of anything.
He taught me that the experience of being on stage shouldnt have anything to do with pressure.
Its a gift that you could enjoy in that moment.
Its not, Those people are up there doing something, and these people are down here watching them.
Its a collective experience that you have.
And everything that happens in the audience plays a role on stage too.
People are so wide open; their awareness is so big at that moment.
DEADLINE: Whendid you startmakingmovies?
I am very grateful that shes in my life.
She said, We can figure it out together.
Because it would be my first film, and it was very risky for him.
He had to be sure that I was capable of giving him what he wanted.
DEADLINE:That was a big deal for you.How do you feel aboutitnow?
HULLER: I still love it.
Its very dear to me.
HULLER: That whole time was absolutely exciting.
There were so many firsts.
First-time Cannes, first-time America, first-time Oscars, first-time Globes.
So, to me, its still like a big, big dream that I havent finished dreaming.
I still really cant grasp what was going on there.
It confused me very much.
I didnt know what would be the next step.
So, it was a very confusing, but also very beautiful time.
I have no idea whats going on.
DEADLINE: Anyplans to work with MarenAdeagain.
Shes been very quiet since.
HULLER: Oh, I plan to work with Maren all the time.
Id start tomorrow, if I could, but I dont know what shes up to.
We are in contact, but she never talks about her projects.
DEADLINE:Youve had two big critical hits in the last year.
Are you going to take some time off?
I signed two contracts with two Austrian filmmakers, even before Cannes, so Im busy next year.
Ill start to shoot again in May, I think.
DEADLINE:And what can you reveal about your upcoming projects?
Its about all the challenges you have to master to make this disguise work.
And the other film is with Sandra Wollner.
And they do it in a very unusual way.
DEADLINE:Do you still have the same excitement that you used to have about acting?
HULLER: Well, it depends.
[Laughs] Probably you have the same thing!
But then sometimes its really satisfying.
Sometimes it feels like the best decision I ever made.
Its up and down.
