A year ago was Laura Osswald’s first day of filming on “Sturm der Liebe”. In the interview, the audience favorite draws a personal conclusion.
In the TV series “Doctor’s Diary” (2008-2011) she experienced some harsh headwinds, but in “Sturm der Liebe” (3:10 p.m., the first) the opposite is the case. Exactly a year ago, on November 28, 2022, actress Laura Osswald (41) had her first day of filming on the set of the popular ARD telenovela. Since then, she has conquered the hearts of viewers as chef Greta Bergmann at the Fürstenhof. But not only do they love their Greta, the actress herself also has a lot for her role. The Munich native’s assessment of the one-year anniversary in an interview with the news agency spot on news is correspondingly positive.
You started filming “Sturm der Liebe” a year ago. What conclusion do you draw?
Laura Osswald: Unbelievable, the year has gone by so quickly. I’ve actually always been lucky with my working relationships over the past 20 years. There were always great teams, great sets, a family environment. I experienced very little toxicity, which we’ve been hearing a lot about lately. Sure, there is stress sometimes, but not to that extent. The star of “Sturm der Liebe” shines all the brighter. The dynamics here are something very special. For me every day is like coming to my second family. I look forward to work every day. And it’s not just about what I get to play, it also has a lot to do with the team and the cohesion here. It’s just great work.
What was your “Storm” highlight last year?
Osswald: I really liked Greta’s love affair. Unfortunately, something is happening. Personally, I’m doing great right now, but unfortunately I don’t think my figure is doing so well at the moment. Greta had a really great relationship that is now unfortunately in crisis – I really feel for her. On the other hand, it is of course also fun to not only play the ideal world, but also to show the breaks and low points in life. That also makes the role challenging.
Will Greta remain with the fans?
Osswald: Well, if it’s up to me, I’ll definitely stay. I feel right at home here. (laughs)
What do you particularly have in common with Greta?
Osswald: Greta and I definitely share a great passion for cooking. Luckily, I had a lot of free time from filming during the fall break – it always varies, depending on how much the character has to do at the time – and then my daughter and I cooked and baked together all day. It’s a lot of fun for both of us because she’s now old enough that we actually cook together – and no longer where she cooks and I try to prevent it (laughs).
“Storm of Love” is known, among other things, for its great fan love. What have you recently experienced in this context?
Osswald: That’s really something special and I haven’t had a single unpleasant fan contact so far. But there were lots of nice encounters. Recently I was eating schnitzel with my daughter in the pub next door. We happened to meet a classmate and his dad there. The father then told me that his son always watches “Storm of Love” with his grandma – and that he also knew me. I think it’s so nice that so many children watch it with their grandparents. For some families it is almost like a small tradition.
But the thing with fan reactions can be different if you play an evil role, right?
Osswald: Yes, and I’ve already experienced that. In “Doctor’s Diary” for example. This nasty role was a lot of fun to play. But with something like that you get a bit of headwind because some viewers can’t really tell the difference between what my personality is and what the personality of my character is. But when you play someone as likeable as Greta (“Storm of Love”), with whom I can actually identify well, the fan contact is nice across the board.
You were in front of the camera as a teenager. When did you realize that you wanted to be an actress?
Osswald: I never actually made that decision. I did quite well at school, but in addition to high school I also modeled, earned money and traveled a lot. At 16, 17, 18 I saw more of the world than many others because I could simply afford it through these modeling jobs. During these jobs I also met people from the film business who opened doors for me to go on castings. And then little by little it just developed like that. But it wasn’t like I woke up one day and said I wanted to be an actress. I grew into it and haven’t done anything else my whole life. But I can’t imagine doing anything else.
“Storm of Love” is notorious for the masses of text that the actors have to learn. How are you doing with that?
Osswald: I love it. For me it’s a bit like playing chess or the piano – I’ve been playing the piano for a very long time. And you only play it well when you know it by heart. Everything that you have to sight-read simply sounds like it was sight-read. If you play it from your heart and soul, you have learned it by heart beforehand. The good thing is that if you shoot as much as we do, at some point you don’t have to worry so much about the texts anymore. Sometimes it’s enough to read the page once and I know it by heart because I know my role well. Of course, I also have to memorize long passages of text.
The daily workload on “Sturm der Liebe” is certainly strenuous. How do you like to switch off afterwards?
Osswald: Switching off in the traditional way is not for me. For example, I can’t stand five minutes in the bathtub. But what really brings me down is cleaning. I put on a good podcast – preferably true crime – and then I mop the floors, unload and load the dishwasher, make the beds and do the laundry. I also really enjoy cooking. I can easily stand in the kitchen at the stove all day long. This is meditative for me. And I really enjoy reading books – real, real books made of paper. I need to be able to touch the pages, dog-ear them, and then get angry about them. I always alternate between reading a sophisticated German book and a somewhat shallower English book. Simply to stay in the flow. I lived in the USA for a relatively long time, but you forget a lot. My daughter also grew up bilingual and I do the same with her children’s books. She likes that.
What about sports for you?
Osswald: I’m a really bad sports person. Sport always comes in phases in my life. Always completely or not at all. For example, in the summer I really enjoyed playing beach volleyball – even on set with the team. I’m always the garden gnome among the lighting giants who doesn’t do anything, but it’s still a lot of fun. Of course I also do yoga sometimes. This always works well for six months, then I fall back into my old patterns. Sport is just my thing as a team.