Adele Neuhauser plays a trans woman "At some point you have to face your injuries"

Adele Neuhauser, known as "Tatort" detective Bibi Fellner, talks about her film "Ungeschminkt", which tells the story of a trans person. A conversation about social and very personal struggles.

Where Adele Neuhauser is on the label, there is usually a lot of attitude and the best entertainment inside. Now Uli Brée, the man who invented the ORF "Tatort" detective Bibi Fellner for her, has written a new great film role for her.

In the TV tragicomedy "Ungeschminkt" (in the ARD media library), the actress plays Josefa, who used to be called Josef.

What makes it special is that the touching story is also told from the perspective of those who struggle with the fact that Josefa has radically left her life as a man behind.

In the interview, Adele Neuhauser talks about the injuries she suffered during filming, but also the injuries we inflict on each other. And she says what it takes to overcome such injuries in order to make the world a better place.

Ms. Neuhauser, during the filming of "Ungeschminkt" you had a bad fall and broke your shoulder. How are you feeling now?

Thank you very much - I'm fine again. I'm not 100 percent recovered yet, but I'm working on myself and that's good for me.

How long did you have to take a break?

Three months. I worked on myself very, very bravely so that I could catch up on the last two days of filming.

"Ungeschminkt" is the story of a trans person. It's about Josefa, who used to be called Josef and returns to her Bavarian home village after 35 years. The film contains the clever sentence: "Gender is not between the legs, but between the ears." What needs to change for this to sink into people's heads?

Yes, a great sentence! We need more empathy. For many people, anything that falls outside the norm is associated with fear. This fear is then often translated into aggression, as in the character of Josefa's father.

We all experience injuries and unfortunately also inflict them on other people. At some point, you have to face up to your injuries. The movie tells us how we can deal with this in a way that gives us hope. That's the great thing about it.

Ungeschminkt" was written by Uli Brée, who is a star in Austria. He has already written several roles for you, he invented the "Tatort" detective Bibi Fellner. What is your collaboration like? Do you develop ideas together, or does he write the characters for you?

Rather the latter. Uli is a pool of ideas, it's unbelievable. The fact that he has gotten to know me so well over the years means that he really enjoys challenging me. Conversely, this is of course an incredible gift for me.

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That's the best thing of all: to be challenged, to dive deep into a subject. To sit down, read literature, watch documentaries, talk to people affected - which is what I did with this movie. It's simply beautiful when you immerse yourself in a world and search within yourself. Making yourself available for a tender and incredibly beautiful material.

"Ungeschminkt" has already been shown at several film festivals. Were you confronted with the criticism that only actors who are themselves trans should play trans people?

I believe that this criticism only wants to make it clear that such challenging roles should not be approached with sensationalism, but with true dedication. And I play all my roles with true dedication. That's why I don't feel addressed.

This dedication also applies above all to the choice of themes in your films: It is important to you to draw attention to socially important aspects ...

That's right, I don't want to talk past the world as it is. And transgender is a topic that is very universal. You'd think it's a very specific topic. Of course it is. But it is universal. We remain human, no matter what history we go through. And what do we do to each other? We have to learn to forgive each other, otherwise this will go on forever.

What issues are you particularly concerned with at the moment?

We need to roll up our sleeves together and find a way to heal our environment instead of always playing small. We have to stop hurting each other. We have to accept that we have different opinions, that we have different attitudes.

We all live on one and the same planet. So we have to make sure that we get along with each other. And films like "Unvarnished" contribute to this. In a figurative sense. Because films can soften us up, sensitize us to how we treat each other.

Like Josefa in the movie, you fought against yourself for decades. In your autobiography "I was my greatest enemy", you talk openly about phases of depression and your suicide attempts. Are you now your best friend?

It's getting better and better. I have to admit that this very unpleasant experience with the bicycle accident during filming was a good building block for accepting myself as a person. As terrible as it was. It was actually really bad that I didn't finish the movie and that I had to cancel another film, sending many people into uncertainty.

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That really put a strain on me. On the other hand, my accident showed me what my body can do. What it can do by working on itself and how well it heals. Even though I don't treat it very well. In other words, I don't eat a healthy enough diet and I'm smoking again. And yet he's such a good house for me.

What would you say to the struggling Adele of the past today?

I would have liked her to call for help. That she would say it out loud and not put her hands on herself. If I'd had therapy, I'm sure I would have been pulled out of the dark phase more quickly. I wouldn't have spent so many years with it. On the other hand, this fear and anger, this self-hatred, made me who I am today.

In a way, I brought myself into the world. Although I actually wanted to get myself out. Maybe this time also made me rich and sensitive to the things I try to realize. Artistically. It makes me happy that I am equipped in this way. I can also understand many things more intimately as a result.

You once said: "My home is within me. My real home is me." What did you mean by that?

I was surprised myself that this sentence came out of me (laughs). But that's exactly how it is. I used to long for my original homeland of Greece. Over the years, however, I've discovered that it's not a place at all, but that it's me.

If I don't trust myself, how can I trust others? If I don't value myself, how can I value others? When I think of all the things I did when I was young ... Too much alcohol, too much of many things ... But I made it, I brought myself home. All these things I've experienced with myself have shown me: It's me. I am my home.

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