Dr Oskar Huth

What appealed to you about this project?

The director Philipp Kadelbach called me and asked me to meet him to introduce the project to me. To be honest, as a German I am quite cautious with stories that take place during the Second World War because I think that artists who re-enact the Third Reich carry a great responsibility.

I think that in particular showing the cruelty of the Holocaust is not possible in a filmic way because it is something that is beyond imagination. So I was very happy that SS-GB is not founded on historical facts, which makes it much easier to interpret it and frees you from the risk of falsifying history.

Tell us about your character.

I think it is very interesting to deal with personalities like Huth, because he is a very complex character full of contradictions, which attracts me as an actor of course. Sometimes Nazis in movies are quite one dimensional and clichéd, but Huth is a very authentic person, with a lot of facets and several layers.

Do the costumes and setting help you get into character?

Absolutely. I admire the work of costume designer Emma Fryer. For me the costume is 80 per cent of getting into a character. I remember that I asked Emma during the fitting, whether we could give the whole uniform a slimmer cut, to give Huth a sharp silhouette, which we did. That helped me a lot, because it led me to his physicality.

Of course, the aesthetic of the Nazis uniforms is still very powerful because it was an important part of their propaganda machinery that seduced millions to follow them. Pieces like the leather coat were something I could use as an actor to help me to present somebody with an angst-inducing authority.

In the script Huth always has his cane with him. That gives me a lot of playing opportunities and a kind of theatrical touch, which I enjoyed.