Sebastian Fitzek (54) is paying "Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten" a visit: The bestselling author plays himself in two episodes of RTL's perennial favorite and gives a private reading from his current psychological thriller "Der Nachbar" - of all people, for series villain Jo Gerner, played by Wolfgang Bahro (65). For Fitzek, who usually has no trouble terrifying his readers, the situation on set was suddenly reversed. "I normally control the horror in my books, but suddenly standing face to face with Dr. Jo Gerner has a whole different dynamic", he reports in an RTL interview.
"Wolfgang Bahro has embodied this role so perfectly for years that you automatically have great respect for the character on set", Fitzek continues. He has known the actor privately for a long time through their mutual friend Oliver Kalkofe and considers him "one of the most likable people he knows". That definitely doesn't apply to his role: "When you know what Gerner has pulled off in the series, you tremble a little bit in front of the camera, at least secretly."
"Don't show any weakness in front of Gerner"
The appearance on the daily soap was challenging for another reason as well. "I really haven't had to learn that much text in a long time", Fitzek admits, and is grateful for a rehearsal before filming. His hope: to hide the odd line flub inconspicuously in the book - "don't show any weakness in front of Gerner!"
The author was also impressed by the operations behind the scenes. The whole thing is like a huge company of its own, he marveled at the filming location in Babelsberg. Above all, the atmosphere among the team, which was already palpable in the cafeteria, won him over.
On TV at the end of July
Sebastian Fitzek had already filmed his scenes on May 12. The two episodes will air on July 23 and 24 (7:40 p.m.) on RTL. The reason for the guest appearance, which was already announced in May, is his 20th anniversary as a writer, for which he says he is currently fulfilling a few wishes. In an earlier interview, he had mentioned how much he would like to appear in the cult series, after which he was actually invited.
