Tom Wlaschiha

Sometimes it still seems unreal just to board a plane and fly to America, because that's something that I'd always dreamed of, but I was completely sure would never happen, and sometimes, when I think about that, it still feels a bit unreal.

I grew up in East Germany, so we had to learn Russian in school... everybody hated it. I never thought it would come in handy... And being an actor, I've been able to use it quite a bit.

I really love theatre, as that is where I started out.

Both mediums, theatre and film, have really interesting sides to it that I really like to explore.

The system in Germany is different, as you sign up with a company for two or three years, and you work exclusively with them; you can't do any film work on the side.

Foreign languages was the only thing that interested me when I was at school, so playing in another language... it is quite demanding because if it is not your mother tongue, you are missing some connotations and some emotional depth of certain things.

For me, the fall of the Wall came at the exact right time because, I mean, I was 17, basically I hadn't missed anything, unlike the generation of my parents, who were deprived of a lot of things. They couldn't travel, and they couldn't really get ahead in their professional careers. So for me, it was perfect timing.