“A thriller from Passau”: Michael Ostrowski appreciates “good patchwork”

“A thriller from Passau”
Michael Ostrowski appreciates “good patchwork”

The Passau crime series continues. After the success of the two opening films in autumn 2020, the next two parts are now due to be broadcast: “Too young to die. A thriller from Passau” (March 31, 8:15 p.m., the first) and “The river is his Grab. A thriller from Passau” (April 7, 8:15 p.m.). The fifth is currently being filmed. In addition to the two female leading actresses Marie Leuenberger (born 1980) and Nadja Sabersky (born 1998), part of this success story is certainly also the Austrian actor Michael Ostrowski (49), whom many may know as pathologist Günter from the Eberhofer crime series. In an interview with spot on news, Ostrowski explains what he is asked more about and what is special about the Passau crime novels. He also reveals the secret of his patchwork family to the question that has long been asked of working women: How do you balance family and career?

What do you get asked more about, the Eberhof crime novels or is it the crime novels from Passau?

Michael Ostrowski: It’s very different. There are days when everyone knows me from the Eberhofer crime novels and then people ask me about the crime novels from Passau. I can never predict who is watching what. Of course it’s different in Austria because I’ve done more there. Overall it’s fifty-fifty now, I’d say. The feedback is always positive, which of course makes me very happy.

With “Too young to die” and “The river is his grave” the third and fourth thrillers from Passau will be broadcast. The fifth has been filming since early March. What makes the series so special and what is the big difference to “crime scene” for example?

Ostrowski: The scripts, the actors, the setting – there are no classic police officers, no classic criminals and lots of surprises and twists. Nobody is really good, nobody really bad, it all gets mixed up. Also, each film has its own story, but also many storylines that continue to develop across all films. I also find my character, private detective Ferdinand Zankl, quite interesting because he’s just a funny guy. I really like the fact that he also speaks dialect, because it gives a character a completely different color. All of this sets these crime novels apart from others.

Passau has to struggle with flooding on a regular basis. Was the filming ever affected?

Ostrowski: I personally or we as a shooting team were, thank God, not yet affected. But of course this is already present in the city. The flood limits are marked in the hotel where I live. Once the water was almost 13 meters high. This is insane and definitely no fun. Apart from the flood, the fact that you are always surrounded by three rivers and so much water is very formative. This is certainly part of the flair of the city.

In “Too young to die. A thriller from Passau” Zankl is commissioned by bar owner Roman Haslinger to search for people. Haslinger is played by Miguel Abrantes Ostrowski. are you related

Ostrowski: No, that’s total coincidence. My Ostrowski is a pseudonym, my name was Michael Stockinger. But I didn’t want that as my stage name, because back in the 1990s, when I started acting, there was already a Karl Markovics TV series with that name. But for Miguel Abrantes Ostrowski it is his birth name and it was very funny when we met. I already knew he existed, but I never thought we’d ever shoot together.

You are in a relationship with your Austrian actress colleague Hilde Dalik (“Vorstadtweiber”) and have four children. How do you balance family and career?

Ostrowski: With us everything is patchwork and in this respect the answer is: good patchwork with a lot of understanding from everyone involved. Of course it’s also an advantage that we both know how our job works. We both know that when you’re shooting you’re just gone. There are no arguments and that is extremely pleasant.

Can your children also be in front of the camera?

Ostrowski: Actually, they always knew very little about my job because they were supposed to grow up unencumbered. In the meantime, however, I have made my own cinema comedy, which I wrote myself and in which I also acted and directed. It’s called “Der Onkel” and will be in cinemas in Austria at the beginning of May. And in addition to Anke Engelke, my girlfriend and three of my children also played. Negotiations are still being made with the distributor in Germany because the cinema landscape is crazy at the moment. There’s a backlog of about 100 films that haven’t been able to get out yet because of the lockdowns. But let’s see…

And how did your three children fare?

Ostrowski: The third was one and a half years old at the time and naturally played a small child – she did an excellent job (laughs). The other two have really big roles. We did a long audition with other child actors beforehand. At some point they wanted to try it too. And what can I say, they were the best in the casting and together with Anke Engelke, who plays her mother, simply had super energy. I think they did an excellent job – and I dare say so, because if they had done it badly, of course, as a father, I would have gotten ten times more slaps in the face.

What do you like to do as a balance to acting?

Ostrowski: I write a lot – screenplays and currently also a novel. Otherwise, sport brings me down best. It almost doesn’t matter whether I play tennis myself or watch football, tennis and other sports on TV.

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