With WE ARE THE NIGHT set to hit DVD Monday 15th October, THN was fortunate enough to catch up with Jennifer Ulrich (Charlotte). You can read our interview here:
Your character shows a very human side: the regret on her face for almost the duration of the film is there for all to see. Do you think this is how you’d be if you were given immortal life with the restrictions vampires have?
That was one of the questions I always asked myself and I came to the conclusion that I would really enjoy being a vampire first but after some time I would get bored and disappointed. I mean, it’s the excitement about the supernatural that we humans are longing for. Once you have it you love it but what’s coming next? There is nothing you can’t do, nothing you are not capable of as a vampire, so nothing is valueable anymore. Nothing matters anymore. I couldn’t stand that feeling and it lasts for eternity.
One of the films most powerful scenes is with you and your daughter. How did you approach it?
Well, I don’t have a daughter but I think almost everyone knows how it feels to lose somebody who means a lot to you, someone that you love. I was imagining my mother lying in that bed and spending my very last moments with her. That was getting me the closest to the feeling of loss I could ever imagine. It’s always very intense to shoot scenes like that.
The dialogue has a very natural feel to it all the way through. Were you allowed to improvise any scenes or is it from Dennis and Jan’s script?
The dialogues in the film are very much the ones from the original script. Of course, every actor changes a little bit every once in a while but if it’s a good script it’s not necessary. We had a week of rehearsals before the shoot in which we talked a lot about the scenes and the relationships of our characters and in that process we also added some aspects and came up with ideas like singing that child lullaby for my daughter for example.
This is the second time you’ve worked with Dennis Gansel after The Wave. What is it about him you like?
Dennis is a young, creative director with a great sensibility to work with his actors. He’s always open to new ideas, willing to try new things out and he gives you the feeling of being in the right hands. Even if you’re not too sure about how to play a scene or how to express a certain feeling he’s always there to help you jumping in that moment, giving examples and making you feel comfortable. He’s a great companion on these intense shooting journeys and someone you can trust.
There is a lot of stunt work in the movie. How much did you do yourself and did you enjoy it?
I love stunt work. I did pretty much everything myself. In Germany we don’t have so many action film productions and especially for women the chance of working very physical is very rarely. So I saw it as a great gift and opportunity to do things in a film that I never did before. I enjoyed it so much because it was so new to me. I mean who does not want to fly around in the air, jump from the ceiling or out of an airplane without needing to think about the consequences. It’s a big playground. We also had some stunt and gun training beforehand which was a big experience for me.
Read our review of WE ARE THE NIGHT right here, and keep it THN for our upcoming interview with Anna Fischer who plays Nora.
