Sonke Wortmann
He had to overcome his shyness
Sonke Wortmann
© imago/APress
Originally, Sönke Wortmann didn’t even dare to do the director’s job. To do this, he first had to overcome his shyness.
Sönke Wortmann (62) is known throughout Germany as a director of films such as “The Moving Man” or “The Miracle of Bern”. He never would have guessed that it would come to this. The magazine “DB Mobil” he says in the new issue that he didn’t even have the courage to become a director himself. Instead, he “just” wanted to be a production manager.
Soenke had had a big problem with shyness since childhood. “It’s not a nice feeling when you don’t dare to say something or get in touch with others, even though you would like to,” says Wortmann.
“I have practiced”
At film school, he finally decided to change that and intentionally got himself into uncomfortable situations by moderating events: “I practiced going forward, introducing people, creating an evening.” In fact, self-imposed exposure therapy helped. “Since I’ve practiced it, I’ve come to terms with the feeling of being the center of attention – although I still don’t like it.”
In the conversation, Wortmann also reveals that there is a piece of himself in each of his characters, both in the films and in his first novel “The spoken word counts.” “I always try to empathize with my protagonists, even the bad ones or the stupid ones. I want to understand why they are the way they are,” the magazine quotes him as saying. “In all characters, even the bad ones, there are qualities and things that I have experienced myself or that are part of me.”