Benno Fürmann plays a conspiracy guru in “The Kangaroo Conspiracy”. What occupied him before the commitment in Corona times.
Marc-Uwe (Dimitrij Schaad, 36) and the kangaroo make a daring bet in “The Kangaroo Conspiracy” (theatrical release: August 25): You will lose your affordable old Berlin apartment if you don’t make it, Marias (Rosalie Thomass, 35) to save mother Lisbeth Schlabotnik (Petra Kleinert, 55). She has fallen into the clutches of conspiracy guru Adam Krieger and his fanatical followers…
Krieger is embodied by Benno Fürmann (50). In an interview with the news agency spot on news, he explains what the Berlin actor was busy with before agreeing to an anti-conspiracy ideology film, especially in Corona times.
Were you familiar with the kangaroo before filming began, did you know its universe?
Benno Fürmann: As a Berliner – and meanwhile also in Germany – you can’t avoid it, I would say. And so it was with me. I knew the kangaroo, but I hadn’t read the books before. But that wouldn’t have been possible with the new film “The Kangaroo Conspiracy” anyway, because it’s not based on one of Marc-Uwe Kling’s books.
How did the collaboration with director, screenwriter and kangaroo inventor Marc-Uwe-Kling (born 1982) come about?
Fürmann: Marc contacted me, then we talked about the script and he said that he had thought of me relatively early on when writing it… for whatever reason… actually questionable (laughs). But at the time he spoke of “sympathy and assertiveness”.
What concerned you the most after the offer?
Fürmann: Corona is not even mentioned in the film, but the context is clear. And the idea of playing a corona denier at this time, when life was already pretty demanding anyway, really bothered me.
You mean the crack that went/goes through society anyway?
Fürmann: Yes, exactly, and one side screamed louder than the other. I found the site that demonized politicians and the press and accused everyone of lying very questionable. Because who are “they”? That’s us, so we’re talking about ourselves. I don’t like this outsourcing of problems at all. And if you then look at groups like QAnon, i.e. people who believe that others drink the blood of small children, you can only shake your head in bewilderment.
On the other hand, this stamp “conspiracy theorist” was distributed too quickly for me. Anyone who said anything critical or just wanted to discuss was immediately pushed into this corner and silenced with this manslaughter argument.
Against this background, as an actor, I didn’t want to pour more fuel on the fire and further drive the division of society. Also because I believe that we really have to work together if we want to get things like global warming under control. And when you yell at someone, it doesn’t exactly make them willing to listen… Such thoughts have been running through my head.
You finally decided to play along with the “Kangaroo Conspiracy”. Why?
Fürmann: Because, on the other hand, satire and its exaggeration of reality is an art form that I very much celebrate.
How likeable is your role Adam Krieger, whose real name is Sören Klugsch?
Fürmann: Adam Krieger does what many people do. The world is complicated and he counters this complexity by speaking out about supposed truths. The need for simple answers, the more inscrutable and intangible things and connections are, is of course deeply human and a kind of basic longing.
The trouble is, simple truths tend to lag behind what’s really going on. And they postulate something they cannot hold, namely that they know a truth that one cannot even know yet. I find that exhausting, and in this respect I also find Adam Krieger the man-catcher exhausting, because he claims things that are not scientifically proven.
That was also the exhausting thing about the Corona crisis, that suddenly everyone knew exactly what was going on and everyone was a qualified biochemist. Well, I personally was very happy that I wasn’t in a decision-making position in politics or medicine.
As in his books, Marc-Uwe Kling has accommodated many ingenious ideas and intellectual continuations in his film. Which flash of inspiration did you particularly like?
Fürmann: I really liked the dating portal for conspiracy theorists, “Truth Love”, where you have to tick which conspiracy ideology you adhere to when registering. That was quite a delightful new draft of a way of getting to know each other. That could probably work too, because then you live in the same world and reality. The only problem is when one of the two wants to go back to the other world and the bubble threatens to burst…
The film is the first directorial work by Marc-Uwe Kling, who became a successful writer. How was the collaboration?
Fürmann: I found it really impressive how targeted, sorted and comprehensive Marc-Uwe Kling was in directing. Together with his storyboarder and cinematographer, he created an environment where I felt like everything was clear at all times. The scaffolding was in place and we, the actors, were able to fill it with life from the inside. It was very easy work with clear specifications. Marc knew exactly what he wanted. It’s actually unbelievable that he’s never directed before.
Source: Stern
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