Week Eight: Celebrities. German star to Superstar.

Often referred to as the ‘German Brad Pitt’ (Deubel, S, 2010*) Til Schweiger, as well as being one of Germany’s most popular, and most successful domestic TV/Film stars; has become a valuable export, representing Germany in a number of Hollywood films.

Image from:  http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/ROMY_2012_47_Til_Schweiger_cropped.jpg/449px-ROMY_2012_47_Til_Schweiger_cropped.jpg

Image from: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/42/Brad_Pitt_4%2C_2013.jpg/400px-Brad_Pitt_4%2C_2013.jpg

More recently, Til Schweiger appeared in the Hollywood production of the film The Courier, in which he plays in a title role as an American FBI agent.

After seeing Til in some of his previous movies, Keinohrhasen and Zweiohrkueken (both produced for a German audience), and New Year’s Eve (A Hollywood production in which Til plays a German-American); it was interesting to observe Schweiger in a role in which his native accent was barely prevalent. At times even I could have believed that he was an American actor! Seeing this movie made me wonder whether, in order to appeal to a more globalised audience, Schweiger had undergone what Marshall would consider a ‘new reconstruction of how the self is reconstituted through the screens’ (Marshall, 2010)

This sort of acting maybe seen as a response to the ‘specular economy’ – a concept in which ‘we are becoming more conscious of how we present ourselves’ (Marshall, 2010).

Coinciding with the general perception that if you make it in Hollywood, you can make it anywhere, it is no wonder that international film stars such as Til Schweiger are prepared to ‘reproduce’ themselves as products of the Hollywood film industry. Through Amercan roles such as in The Courier; Schweiger has established himself as a Hollywood star, rather than perhaps, just a talented German export.

Already carrying the charm and looks of America’s Brad Pitt, the reconstituted Til Schweiger, through his ‘new’ American accent is seeing the success of Hollywood stardom. 

References

Marshal, P.D 2010, ‘The Specular Economy’, Society, vol. 47, no. 6, pp. 498-502

*Sina Deubel is my German exchange student, from Marburg, Germany.