Fahri Yardim and Rocko Schamoni in “Der Upir”: Series is “like a family reunion”

Fahri Yardim (44) and Rocko Schamoni (58) can be seen from September 18th (every Wednesday on Joyn) in the new vampire comedy series “Der Upir”. In it, Berlin burger joint owner Eddie (Yardim) is bitten by vampire Igor (Schamoni) during a house viewing. Eddie can only stop the transformation from human to bloodsucker if he is always at Igor’s service as Upir.

In an interview with the news agency spot on news, the main actors talk about what they have in common when filming, which scenes were “very intimate” and which secret of the series they will not reveal. Yardim also explains why he values ​​taboo areas as an actor and what the successful series “jerks.” (2017-2023) has in common with “Der Upir”.

Did you know about the term Upir beforehand and/or did you study the term before filming?

Rocko Schamoni: I didn’t know it, but I have to say that I liked the term from the start, and it could have been a much, much worse series title than “The Upir”. The term immediately piqued my interest because it’s strange and funky.

Fahri Yardim: I thought the term was crap from the start. But Rocko is right: the standard for series titles is so low that you almost have to cheer for “The Upir”.

What did you learn about each other through the series?

Schamoni: I’m going to speak for Fahri. He’ll correct me in a moment. We’ve already noticed that the other person has something that many others in the German entertainment sector don’t have, namely a certain kind of unpredictable spontaneity, especially in improvisation, which arouses curiosity. Fahri is one of the furthest people in this country in this respect. You really notice that you can never predict exactly what ideas will come next – and I can often do that with many German film and series projects. That bores me a bit.

Yardim: Yes, and I learned that, and Rocko didn’t even notice it, from him, among others. Studio Braun was my humorous role model back then. Rocko was like a big brother to me, only he never knew that he had a little brother. And now “The Upir” is like a family reunion. As if my oldest brother, after years of fighting the humor war, was finally coming home to me and stroking me.

What surprised you most about each other during filming?

Schamoni: There wasn’t much that surprised me. It was clear to me that Fahri plays the game we play at a very high level. What surprised me was the seriousness and depth with which he can openly engage in relationships with other people, and also that he can really seriously admit his mistakes and weaknesses. I think it’s good when someone shows that they are fallible – and Fahri can do that.

Yardim: Yes, I really noticed how I liked Rocko and Peter [Meister, Drehbuchautor und Regisseur, Anm. d. Red.] by being so benevolent and a team player. They are just completely infected with “jerks.”, assuming that I am a huge asshole and a first-person shooter. Every little act of kindness has always been a huge surprise for both of them. It’s absurd what kind of external image I have. Nothing about Rocko really surprised me because I suspected it: what a great man Rocko is.

The series does have some drastic scenes, like the tampon. Were you disgusted by certain scenes and how did you deal with it?

Yardim: I don’t think disgust is appropriate because our role as actors is to vicariously push ourselves into the trauma in order to resolve deep-seated knots. I’m still disgusted, but there’s another force, one that says: I’m pushing forward into the taboo area in order to perhaps enable collective growth beyond it. It’s like a transpersonal performance. But when I listen to myself, it sounds incredibly self-aggrandizing and actually I don’t do it with much awareness at all; I just like throwing myself into it. At some point I realized that the taboo area is the area in which I can grow. The border is just a zone, not a clear line, and being slightly overwhelmed in life expands me. And I have an irrepressible desire to grow, not just upwards, but in all directions like a bush. I am a bush!

What was the craziest thing you experienced on set?

Schamoni: The flying scenes were very strenuous, very intimate and very close. We were constantly in close physical contact. It smelled – there was a lot of sweat involved – and it hurt our genitals a lot. We had to wear flying harnesses and they cut into our legs enormously. It’s really tough on the balls. There were embarrassing moments when we had to fly and the camera was off. We had to talk to each other very close to each other face to face.

Yardim: In these scenes you are confronted with your own weight very harshly. If you stand upright, you don’t notice it. If you’re tied up at a few points, you realize what a huge, watery lump you are. What I found so nice was that this old punk rocker Rocko and I, this purple-mood bear, usually act relaxed, but in that moment we were completely broken down, into a miserable state of being, screaming for help the whole time. Bloated whiners. That was a beautiful, self-relativizing image. After that you can no longer claim that you’re a great hero.

There is a lot of blood in the series. What was it made of and what was it like working with it?

Yardim: Wizards never give away their secrets. This is all real blood, we really bit and we really sucked. We didn’t need help flying either.

The series is announced as Germany’s first vampire comedy. What kind of comedy do vampires bring with them?

Schamoni: None at all. Vampires are incredibly boring, dull characters. But if you put vampires in a supermarket or a gas station, things can happen that are at least somewhat funny at the gas station.

Yardim: We have the wrong expectations of vampires. In “The Upir” we show that they are nothing more than pale, stupid-looking bloodsuckers who are driven by some kind of base desire.

Vampires used to be portrayed as noble and aristocratic, but today they can also be young and cool. Which portrayals of vampires in books and films do you like best?

Schamoni: Well, there are a few vampire classics. Of course, the great “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” by Francis Ford Coppola was the last really great vampire film, but none of that really influenced me. I was also rather skeptical about the idea that Peter Meister came up with, but the argument that Fahri was involved was what ultimately convinced me of vampirism.

Yardim: I thought “The Little Vampire” was really bad crap back then. It was “The Adams Family” for boring kids.

Igor has a very unique look with long hair and a fur coat. What was important to you about his appearance?

Schamoni: We thought for a long time about what Igor should look like. He should be over 100 years old, then at some point we came up with Oscar Wilde. We found Oscar Wilde to be a role model enough as a dandyish figure. We wanted to go in that direction with the character. Peter Meister knew my role Dickie Schubert from the film “Fraktus”, the goofy electronic pioneer. Then Peter said that he would like to merge Dickie Schubert with Oscar Wilde.

Driving isn’t really Igor’s thing, but flying or being invisible are important. What trait would you like him to have?

Schamoni: Igor has such concentrated incompetence that you can’t copy him. He almost implodes from incompetence. That’s why I like him, but I wouldn’t want to have any of his qualities.

Yardim: What’s remarkable is how he doesn’t notice this inability. It’s a nice quality to be such a carefree asshole.

Mr. Yardim, what was it like for you to be in Igor’s service? Would you have liked to change sides?

Yardim: I have an anti-authoritarian spirit in me: I don’t like being the sycophant or the whip-man. I like relationships on equal terms. That was a painful endurance. The best comedy is fed by the tragic. If we were on equal terms all the time, there would be no need to tell it. I’m always happy to be suppressed for the sake of art.

What would you say to “jerks.” fans about how “The Upir” differs? And how has working on the two series been different for you?

Yardim: The two series are two home-grown projects that come from the same family. Both have leaves, but different flowers, and we used different fertilizers. There are similarities between the two: a very drastic sense of humor, a love of the tragic-comic, the banal and healthy idiocy. That’s what connects the two, and at the same time they are very different things. But I can imagine that someone who enjoys “jerks.” can also enjoy “The Upir.”