A Portrait of actor Helena Zengel

Sitting in a Berlin café only a few months before her birthday, Helena Zengel admits she is impatient to finally turn 18. She moved out of her parents’ home a long time ago, and people usually think she is older than she is, anyway. But the actor beams to think about finally coming of age on paper. And this is probably no surprise, given that as a child, she had already made a deep impression on audiences around the world with some unforgettable roles.

At the age of eight, already a professional in front of the camera, Zengel played the lead role in Mascha Schilinski’s debut film DARK BLUE GIRL. It was then at the latest, she recalls, that her love of acting crystallised into something much bigger. “Standing on the beach on the set in Santorini, I knew that I should commit that moment to my memory forever. Because it was the moment when I felt that this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life,” she tells me over a Coke Zero. “Since then, my fascination with this work, my passion for acting, has grown with every film.”

It did not take long to spot that the Berlin-born actor’s enthusiasm was matched by a unique talent. When Nora Fingscheidt cast her in the title role of SYSTEMCRASHER, she became the youngest ever recipient of the German Film Award and was nominated for the European Film Award. Shortly afterwards, Hollywood took notice as well: Paul Greengrass cast her alongside Tom Hanks in his film NEWS OF THE WORLD, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination and was even shortlisted for a SAG Award by the US Actors’ Guild.

“My friends always say you’ll find me in the fast lane. Even when I’m driving!” says Zengel with a laugh – she had just finished her final driving lesson immediately before I spoke to her. “I’ve always looked up to my single mum. She taught me that I could achieve anything I set my mind to, as long as I wanted it with all my heart. That’s why, even as a child, I saw life as a big, juicy peach I could simply take a bite out of. Negativity or the idea that I might not be able to do something; that never even crossed my mind.”

Following a string of international produc­tions such as A CHRISTMAS NUMBER ONE, THE LEGEND OF OCHI starring Willem Dafoe and Emily Watson, and Pia Marais’s TRANS­AMAZONIA, the next chapter in Zengel’s career is now beginning. “It was a great experience going to Hollywood, but it was clear to me that I wanted to continue filming in Germany,” she says, referring to her recent return to home turf. But an even greater joy? “Being able to play an adult role at last, and not being perceived as a child any longer.”

The project that made this possible is WESTEND GIRL, a TV series directed by Pola Beck and Stefan Schaller, which will celebrate its world premiere at the Seriencamp Festival in June. She plays the part of a young woman whose idyllic world collapses when her parents are exposed as drug dealers, describing it as an exciting challenge: “It was a long, intense project that allowed me to surpass myself and redefine my limits.” EXPLODING DUCKS is also set to premiere later this year, a film in which she plays the daughter of Lilith Stangenberg, a former CIA agent. She describes Matthias Glasner’s new feature as wild and authentic, but does not want to give much more away as yet: “We certainly had a lot of creative freedom to experiment in front of the cameras.”

It is not as if Zengel – who also devotes herself to writing as a side-line and is currently developing the first projects of her own – is unaware that life as an actor is not always “peachy”. “I’m under no illusions, I know that this job consists of 90% rejection,” she admits. “That’s why, as someone who has had such a successful career so early on, I am trying to free myself from the pressure of needing to achieve the same over and over again or, ideally, always wanting to aim higher.” Which does not mean she will let her ambition or self-confidence be shaken (of course, she dreams of an Oscar!): “Fortunately, I have the privilege of not needing to accept every role right now. Because what I really don’t want, in any aspect of my life, is to do things by halves.” So, Zengel is not about to take her foot off the accelerator any time soon. And why should she? After all, despite the big birthday coming up in June, she still has her whole life ahead of her.

Patrick Heidmann