Exclusive Interview with Uwe Schwarzwalder – Actor/Director/Writer
Uwe Schwarzwalder is an actor from Zurich, Switzerland, with German and Bulgarian roots, who appeared in many film and TV productions in the US and Europe, and starred in multi-award winning “The Radicalization of Jeff Boyd” which he wrote and directed in 2017, and in the crime thriller, “The Safe”, also written and directed by him in 2023. His project “The Spiritualization of Jeff Boyd”, on which he’s been working for 4 years, is his latest project, to be released in 2024/5. He is also seen in “Swiss Connections”, a German crime TV series, as a detective, and in the Swiss TV crime film “Tatort – Blinder Fleck”.
He’s been studying with acting coach and former actress Dianne Hull, protégé of Lee Strasberg and Elia Kazan, with Lorrie Hull, author of “Strasberg’s Method”, and with well-renowned Jack Waltzer, life time member of the Actor’s studio.
NY Glamour: Uwe, you’ve worked extensively across both the U.S. and European film industries—how has that cross-cultural experience shaped you as an actor and storyteller?
Uwe Schwarzwalder: Crucially. Both as an actor and storyteller, you need a wide and open perspective in order to tell stories. They are not flat, but multilayered with many different aspects and views as life is. Also, to make it universal hence appealing to a wide audience. The cultures in this world are so different, even just across the border or even county. It should all teach us to respect other ways of living. It is not our business to tell other cultures how to live or worse, to live our way of live. We in the West have a big problem with that, and it can, and actually has been for a long time, inflict problems and grievances. There are no rules on how to live lives as long you don’t hurt anybody.
NY Glamour: Your film The Radicalization of Jeff Boyd received multiple awards. What inspired you to write and direct such a psychologically complex story?
Uwe Schwarzwalder: In a hot summer, I just got the impulse to tell a story and I asked myself, how? So, I thought something simple, in an apartment, adding some drama and conflict, and I let my fantasy takes its route. Of course, there were some political themes discussed in the global news which eventually found its way into the script, but most in an unconscious way as I still wanted to entertain and tell a suspenseful story. That it was possible doing a film without a huge crew, I saw it while doing a short of a filmmaker who had all hats on from writing until editing. He became kind of a prototype for me how to do films.
NY Glamour: In your latest project, The Spiritualization of Jeff Boyd, you’ve spent four years in development. Can you share what this journey has been like and what the audience can expect from the film?
Uwe Schwarzwalder: It took so long, because of the so-called pandemic which stopped everything. I still kept on pitching, and as we all know, it is not so easy to find supporters. I ended up doing it myself with a fantastic crew and co-producers which really got intense having discussed the project for so long. Gathering the cast and crew in Switzerland, Germany, Bulgaria, and India was another task, and the execution. In Bulgaria for example, we were halted for shooting right at the beginning because of a political ambush on the street on an attorney general. In India, we had to change the city as in the projected one, we had no permit. It all came out well, and we have a film so multifaceted with different cultures, locations, themes and plots, that there is always happening something surprising.
NY Glamour: You also wrote and directed The Safe, a crime thriller released in 2023. How did the experience of creating a thriller differ from your earlier work?
Uwe Schwarzwalder: This film felt it was done in half a year from writing to the final cut. It went smoothly, even though there were some quite intense scenes to shoot. I wanted to make a genre film with some dark humour even though it has some depth in it, also to experiment how to do it with a simple idea that started while watching at our family safe at my mother’s. Unfortunately, it was only filled with documents, so I had to put some real film money in it to make it real. The film was more physical than my previous and I liked that change.
NY Glamour: You’ve portrayed a detective in the German series Swiss Connections and in the Swiss TV crime film Tatort – Blinder Fleck. What draws you to crime and psychological drama as genres?
Uwe Schwarzwalder: Oh, I was cast for that role, nevertheless it is fun to play a darker side, even though you have to find also the good parts in your character to make it believable. Watching all the crime series form Germany when I was a child, influenced me a big deal I guess. These were part of German TV culture, and very well executed. Tatort exists since the early 70s, and others also run for decades.
NY Glamour: Tell us about your training with renowned coaches like Dianne Hull, Lorrie Hull, and Jack Waltzer. How has Method acting influenced your creative process?
Uwe Schwarzwalder: Most of all, it is interesting to dig into your emotions as you often get surprised by yourself. And it is not only about emotions, but to think and play as the character and invent him. And when it feels reel, it feels good, telling the truth. My coaches have been around for a very long time, working with Kazan, Strasberg, Stella Adler, Meisner, Pacino, Polanski, and many more, and learning from them is a little of a privilege. Jack still teaches in his 100th year of his life. The last of the Mohicans!
NY Glamour: Do you approach acting differently when you’re also the writer and director of a project? How do you balance those three creative roles?’
Uwe Schwarzwalder: I write primarily for the actor, or at least I visualize the scenes with them, within the storyline. The approach is the same, even though I wished I could only focus on the acting sometimes. Most of directing is before the shooting anyway, so I feel safe while doing my work.
NY Glamour: Coming from a multicultural background with German and Bulgarian roots, how do you feel your heritage has influenced your perspective and choices in film?
Uwe Schwarzwalder: Maybe that I think universally. Everybody is the same, just coming from a different angle of the world. I learned that from early age on, and it is more fun to be open for different cultures. I don’t think about it while writing, but happens, I guess, automatically.
NY Glamour: As a European actor working internationally, what challenges have you faced in establishing your voice in different markets?
Uwe Schwarzwalder: Maybe my slight accent, but nowadays I don’t care too much about it, as everybody has an accent in this global world. I think it is overrated, unless the character is so specific and needs it for the script. I can easily adapt geographically, so this has never been an issue for me, but rather it is inspiring to me.
NY Glamour: What would you say is the most valuable lesson you’ve learned from working with industry veterans connected to Lee Strasberg and Elia Kazan?
Uwe Schwarzwalder: It’s only about the work, very simple, nothing fancy. There is no shortcut, no faking, from the gut. We all know it – living truthfully under imaginary circumstances; with real feelings and emotions.
NY Glamour: You’ve received numerous awards for your work—what recognition has meant the most to you personally, and why?
Uwe Schwarzwalder: One of my first awards was for Best Actor where I was on the nominated list with Peter O’Toole in his last film in Nice International Film Festival. Of course, I am not the better actor, and it is not a competition so to speak, but I was quite flattered to see me on the same roster. Same goes with Dani Aiello which I admired for a long time, first in Madonna’s music video “Papa don’t preach”, then in Spike Lee’s “Do the right thing”. The thing, I am in the same club as these greats, humbles me. As a filmmaker, both the nominations at Sofia Independent Film Festival, and lately at Sofia International Film Festival, in Bulgaria. I visited also many festivals in India which adds to it all. Every Award received I value greatly, be it from a “smaller” festival, or from the “bigger” ones – they all are unforgettable.
NY Glamour: Looking ahead, what types of roles or stories are you most excited to explore in the next phase of your career?
Uwe Schwarzwalder: I wrote already the 3rd part of Jeff Boyd. Or maybe one I only play in it, lol, for a break! Something complex in a great story would be nice.
Views: 4
