Oliver Masucci - Actor slips into the role of Snape
Acting star Oliver Masucci (55) becomes Severus Snape: from February 29, 2024, he will take on the role of the star cast for ten selected performance dates (until March 10) in "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" at the Mehr! Theater in Hamburg. For the 55-year-old, it is a comeback to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter: in "Fantastic Beasts 3: Dumbledore's Secrets", he was seen on cinema screens around the world as the chairman of the wizarding world Anton Vogel.
In an interview with the news agency spot on news, the actor talks about his experiences in the wizarding world and reveals what his colleague Jude Law (50) had to do with his family planning.
After your role in "Fantastic Beasts: Dumbledore's Secrets", it's back to the world of "Harry Potter" for you. You will be on stage as Snape in the play "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child". Did you know the play before you got the offer?
Oliver Masucci: Initially only from stories. My girlfriend had seen the long version in London and was really impressed. Funnily enough, that was around the time when I was doing "Fantastic Beasts: Dumbledore's Secrets" in London. I've since seen the play twice here in Hamburg. I generally only do things that I like myself, and I thought the play was very good and beautiful. It's extremely imaginative, a really great magic play. The stage shows all its tricks and the art of illusion! The spells and dementors fly around. You see people disappearing into telephone receivers, how they cast spells and spin around and how they are spat out again and swallowed up. The whole time you wonder how they do it. And that's exactly what I'm going to find out now by standing at the back of the stage.
When do you start rehearsals?
Masucci: I start rehearsing in mid-February. From February 29, I'll play ten performances as Snape. And then we'll see. It's such a wonderful fit for me: it's the wizarding world where I started out as a fan, and then in "Fantastic Beasts: Dumbledore's Secrets" I entered the magical world myself as the head of the wizards. Now I'm on stage in such a great show, it's a win-win situation for all of us.
The character of Snape, which you play in "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child", is probably forever associated with Alan Rickman, who played the Hogwarts teacher in the films. Do you have that in the back of your mind as an actor when you take on the role?
Masucci: Of course you have that in the back of your mind, but it tends to inspire me. I also played in "Schachnovelle", like Curd Jürgens before me. It makes you want to go one better. It's more of an incentive than something to be afraid of. Rickman has of course shaped this role in such a way that you always have him immediately in mind. I can't copy that. The role is created by playing the text and what the text does to you. I don't even know what I'm going to do yet. I'll find out then.
What do you associate with the "Harry Potter" books and films?
Masucci: I read the first book to a little girl back then and found the story so exciting that I devoured the other parts afterwards. I was a complete fan, completely immersed in the Harry Potter world.
What was it like when you immersed yourself in this world as an actor in the third part of "Fantastic Beasts"?
Masucci: At the time, I was asked to work on an English project without initially knowing what it was about. These projects have code names and they only send out a few lines of the script for the auditions. I read and studied it and didn't really know what it was about. Until I suddenly noticed the expression "Merlin's beard". When I had recited it eight times while studying, I realized that it must be "Fantastic Beasts". I sent off my casting video and two days later the director David Yates called. We filmed in the middle of the coronavirus period. I stayed in a hotel near the film studios for six months. For example, there was a scene that took place at Hogwarts and when I got to the set, all the wizarding students suddenly ran towards me because they were on break and raced out of the Great Hall where the tables were set up and the candles were floating. And I just walked through the Hogwarts hall to my set - it was absurd.
You played in the movie with big stars like Mads Mikkelsen, Eddie Redmayne and Jude Law. Who particularly impressed you?
Masucci: They were all great. I had the most to do with Mads at the end, because we also partied together. You weren't allowed to socialize for a long time, that was sometimes very strict in England. So I was often alone in a hotel room where I cooked. At some point, I couldn't take it anymore. I did what Boris Johnson did and just gave up because I couldn't cope on my own any more. Then I called Mads and cooked him German roulades. I wrote all these stories down in my book "Träumertänzer".
Jude Law was also important to me. In the movie "Alfie" he had all these women, but it was so sad because in the end he was just the lover. That movie was so important to me that I fathered my first child afterwards. Jude Law is just a really great guy. We laughed a lot together.
Apart from "Alfie", were there any other roles or films that influenced your life?
Masucci: I was influenced by gangster films and westerns because they were on German television all the time back then. Cinematically, the spaghetti westerns were decisive for me. Sergio Leone and Ennio Morricone became gods of film for me because they also broke new ground in terms of content. These films dissolved good and evil into sympathetic and unsympathetic. One of my favorite films is "Two Glorious Scoundrels". Then Quentin Tarantino came along and took the dramaturgy of the movie completely ad absurdum. His films are an absolute must-see for me. I have to watch "Kill Bill" at least twice a year and "Django Unchained" once. Reservoir Dogs" is another movie that had a huge impact on me. David Fincher's "Fight Club" is also an incredible movie. The American auteur cinema of the 90s was great, with "American Beauty" or "Angel Heart" with Mickey Rourke. I've just shot Roman Polanski's "The Palace" with him.
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Masucci mentions Jude Law in his interview, revealing that Law's role in "Alfie" influenced Masucci's life and led him to father his first child. He also shared his fondness for Jude Law, stating that they often laughed together during filming for "Fantastic Beasts."
Following Masucci's influence from gangster films and westerns, he mentions Quentin Tarantino as an influential director, admitting that he must watch "Kill Bill" at least twice a year, "Django Unchained" once, and "Reservoir Dogs" frequently. He considers these films as an absolute must-see.
Mads Mikkelsen also made an impact on Masucci during their time working together on "Fantastic Beasts." After feeling isolated in his hotel room due to strict coronavirus restrictions, Masucci reached out to Mikkelsen, inviting him for German roulades, and they formed a close bond that Masucci documented in his book "Träumertänzer."
Wrapping up the interview, Masucci shares his thoughts on Alan Rickman as the iconic Snape, stating that Rickman left an indelible mark on the role, yet Masucci views it as an incentive rather than an obstacle. He also refers to Curd Jürgens, whom he followed in "Schachnovelle," as another influence that drove him to leave an even bigger impact on the iconic role.
Source: www.stern.de
