Axel Milberg: His “crime scene” thrillers were never “cozy”

As Klaus Borowski, Axel Milberg (68) has been investigating in the northern German idyll for over two decades. With the “crime scene: Borowski and the head of the Medusa” he says goodbye next Sunday (March 16, 8:15 p.m., the first). In an interview with the magazine “Stern”, the actor talks about his patchwork family, surprising outdoor activities and his critical attitude to the acting industry. “This genius cult, which is often in our profession, bothers me,” says Milberg in conversation.

Milberg has been accompanying his parade role as Northern German Commissioner Borowski for 21 years. When asked why he has remained true to the role for so long, he has a clear answer: “We always looked that they are unpredictable stories, we often tried the impossible. In Gothenburg, in Geneva, on Amrum, under water, in the sewage system.” It has never become “cozy”.

Privately, Milberg reveals himself as a family man with surprising hobbies. He reports of his patchwork family with his wife Judith, with whom he has a son. She brought two more sons into marriage. A fourth son comes from his previous marriage. “The non -physical sons got a lot from me, we have a strong bond, certainly also a common sense of humor.”

With his son Moritz, who works as an emergency doctor, he shares “the joy of adventure in the wilderness”. His son live it “blatant”, he himself only “hourly, but dreams of it,” said Milberg. Moritz climbing with rope and driving canoe, staying in the tent and cooking with a alcohol.

The actor also gives insights into his “crime scene” experience. For example, he tells how difficult it was to win the Swedish bestselling author Henning Mankell (1948-2015, “Kurt Wallander”) as a screenwriter for the “crime scene”.

Axel Milberg had met him on a “Wallander” reading, but when asked about the “awesome” question of whether he could write a story for Milberg, Mankell canceled. “It was only years later, when we knew better, he came back to it.” In the end, the screenplay templates for “Borowski and the fourth man” (2009), “Borowski and the Cool Hund” (2010) and “Borowski and the festival of the north” (2017) from Henning Mankell.