Comedian Hape Kerkeling returns to cinema with two films: in January with the comedy 'Extrawurst' as a corrupt tennis club chairman and in March as his cult figure Horst Schlämmer. In an interview, he discusses the relevance of both roles in today's world and emphasizes the need for humor in a polarized society.
Hape Kerkeling, aged 61, ended his show career in 2014 but remained active in dubbing, readings, and films. He appeared in feature films in 2019 and 2021, and in Vox formats from 2021 onward. Now comes his cinema comeback: Starting January 15, 'Extrawurst', a social comedy by Markus Rosenmüller, in which Kerkeling plays a petty-minded, corrupt chairman of a provincial tennis club. The plot escalates around an extra grill for the club's only Muslim member and playfully highlights everyday racism.
From March 26, 'Horst Schlämmer sucht das Glück' features Kerkeling's well-known character, the sleazy local journalist, whom he describes as the 'prototype of an old white man'. 'Horst Schlämmer is the prototype of an old white man. But to generate humor, he is a wonderful character', Kerkeling explains.
In the interview, he reflects on societal developments: 'We are at a point in society where something is declared an opinion that is factually a lie.' He criticizes the spread of lies on social media and advocates for reason and compromise. Right-wing extremists are humorless: 'Right-wing extremists know no humor. They know mockery, derision, scorn.'
Kerkeling emphasizes the role of clubs in fostering social cohesion and warns against increasing self-righteousness. As a gay man, he feels safer in Germany than in many other countries, but cautions: 'A democracy must always be measured by how it treats its minorities.' Humor is a good sign for a society as long as it is preserved.
