Stefan Gubser about "Traitor" "I didn't want to make a movie anymore"

Vania Spescha

18.10.2024

Stefan Gubser, known for his role as Tatort cop Reto Flückiger, is back. On "On the Rocks", the Winterthur native talks about his comeback and the new blue co-production, the feature film "Landesverräter". Gubser: "This is the highlight of my career."

No time? blue News summarizes for you

  • Stefan Gubser became known to a wide audience through his TV role as Inspector Reto Flückiger in Lucerne's "Tatort" (2011-2019).
  • His latest project is a role in the Swiss historical film "Landesverräter." The film opens in cinemas on October 24.
  • Set in Switzerland in 1942, the modern historical drama is based on true events and shines a critical spotlight on Switzerland's ambivalent relationship with Nazi Germany.

In 2019, Reto Flückiger, alias Stefan Gubser, resigned as a police investigator in the SRF "Tatort" series from Lucerne.

Now he's back on the big screen. But he almost didn't get to play a part in the historical film.

The script for "Landesverräter" was lying around at Stefan Gubser's for a while. The Winterthur native explains: "I didn't want to make any more films at that point," says actor Stefan Gubser.

His wife changed his mind, so he read the story for the movie. The reason for his reluctance? "I hate castings," admits Gubser in "On the Rocks". He feels like he used to take an exam on the blackboard when he was at grammar school.

But he jumps over his shadow anyway: "After two hours, I told my wife it's the best script I've ever had in my hands."

Stefan Gubser: "Der Landesverräter was the highlight of my career"

His latest cinema project "The Traitor" celebrated its premiere at the Zurich Film Festival. The 67-year-old says that all the positive feedback was "touching".

"'The Traitor' was the highlight of my entire career. I've been working in this profession for 43 years and this work was one of the best things I've been lucky enough to do," enthuses Gubser.

But why was the role of police officer Roman Graf so special to play? "Because the character is so far removed from me."

In his best-known role, that of "Tatort" investigator Reto Flückiger, you can quickly see that Flückiger is actually Stefan Gubser.

The role is also visually far removed from Stefan Gubser. In "Landesverräter", he wore a fat suit under his uniform: "It looked a bit like a Michelin man," jokes Gubser. And he wore silicone pads on his face.

Gubser has "lost sight" of his "Tatort" colleague Delia Mayer

When asked about his long-standing character of crime scene investigator Reto Flückiger, he says today that he no longer thinks about it. "Tempi passati" for Gubser.

Contact with his "Tatort" colleague Delia Mayer, alias Liz Ritschard, has also waned: "We have little contact. I do my things, she does hers. We've lost sight of each other."

Stefan Gubser also tells "On the Rocks" whether he still watches "Tatort" on Sundays. In the interview, he talks about his hobbies - sailing and meditating - and whether he could still imagine being in front of the camera in his mid-90s.

"Landesverräter" will be showing in all blue Cinema cinemas from October 24.

You can find the full interview with Stefan Gubser here - or on blue Zoom: