Muse — Sibel Kekilli

Max Braun: Who are you and what do you do?

Sibel Kekilli: My name is Sibel Kekilli and I’m an actress.

MB: How did you end up in acting?

SK: By coincidence.

MB: How did you manage to succeed so many professional actresses at the casting of Head-On?

SK: Well I guess I was good (laughs). You have to ask Fatih Akin — I can’t really tell you the answer.

MB: Did Fatih Akin ever say anything about it?

SK: No he didn’t. I think he saw something in me that was important and felt right for the role.

MB: What was your first thought when you got the female leading role?

SK: I really didn’t think anything. It took some time until I got the role anyway — I just succeeded in the casting round after round. After the third round I thought “Well, now I want to get the part or don’t get it — I need a decision”. That was the only thing. And of course, I was very happy when I got the part.

MB: Did you ultimately decide to become an actress after Head-On?

SK: No, I thought long about if I really want this. I still ask myself from time to time if I want to do this forever or not — there are a naturally Ups and Downs and you have to ask yourself if you want to take part in that or not.

MB: So you’re still not sure if you’re going to be an actress?

SK: Sure — I love this job and it’s an outlet for my energy. That’s not very easy to do in real life. But I guess there is always doubt, no? Don’t you ever question if you doing the right thing? And then you ask yourself how long does this go on for? Do I still have that passion or not anymore?

MB: Of course I’ve been asking myself that.

SK: You see? If you wouldn’t ask those questions you wouldn’t be able to evolve.

MB: Which production made you feel like you can be yourself the most?

SK: I don’t know. I always try to focus on the role while still staying true to myself. So I can’t really answer this question. As a human you always expose something from your self in every role.

MB: Well was there a role you could identify with the most?

SK: Let’s put it this way: There are parts that I liked more than others.

MB: Would you like to tell us which?

SK: For example I liked Shae from “Game of Thrones”, Umay in “When We Leave” (Die Fremde), Sibel in “Head-On” (Gegen die Wand) or Leila in “Winterreise”.

MB: Which award means the most to you?

SK: That’s hard to tell. I was lucky enough to get a lot of awards for some of my roles. Every award that the movies or I have gotten mean a lot to me. But even the nominations make me happy — it resembles a beautiful appreciation of your work.

MB: Would you like to be still alive in Game of Thrones?

SK: Yes and no. I miss the people and my role but I visited them at the set and I’m in contact with them. I liked the way she died though.

MB: Did you forgive Peter Dinklage for murdering you?

SK: Yeah (laughs), that was his job.

MB: I you could pick a role in Game of Thrones, which one would it be?

SK: Cersei.

MB: Why?

SK: Because that part is very multifarious.

MB: You now also stand behind the camera as a director. Did you adapt anything from the directors you acted for?

SK: No, I just tried to trust my instincts and be well prepared.

MB: What part of your life did you bring in at “Der Himmel unter den Füßen”?

SK: Since twelve years I’ve been supporting Terre de Femmes. In favour of female rights in islam but also in general and against violence towards women. I naturally also know this culture but the movie mainly evolved around Christa Stolle.

MB: This topic seems to be very important to you. Is this the reason why you decided to appear in this production as the director?

SK: I think that was rather by coincidence. Arte contacted me and asked me if I could imagine doing the direction for the Format Square. I thought about it and decided of course, why not.

MB: The movie will be premiered three days after your birthday — coincidence?

SK: Yes (laughs), coincidence. I don’t think I would have that much power (laughs).

MB: What project would you like to do in the future?

SK: As an actress I would like to work with directors like Wim Wenders or Michael Haneke. Also directing like the project for Arte will continue to be interesting for me. But I take everything as it comes.

MB: What’s the best advice that you ever got and you would like to share?

SK: “Listen to your gut.” What do you think? What do you feel? It always matter how you feel about something, not about what others think. It took me a while until I really understood this advice.

MB: What has changed for you since then?

SK: In general I got more calm.

Photographs by Stefan Dotter Interview by Max Braun
Styling by Stefanie Klopf Hair & Make-up by Sarah Bleszynski
Production AMSTERDAM BERLIN
Assistant Max Dorsogna

All clothing by
WUNDERKIND