Senta Berger and Simon Verhoeven: Instead of going to church, they went to the cinema – people

You are two greats in the German film landscape: Senta Berger (80) and her son Simon Verhoeven (49).

She has been successful as an actress for more than 70 years, he as a director for more than 20 years. BILD am SONNTAG met mother and son at Senta Berger’s home in the garden.

BILD am SONNTAG: Do you still like going to the cinema?

Senta Berger: “Secure! At Simon’s recommendation, my husband and I saw ‘Roma’ first in the cinema and then again on Netflix. But now I’ve become so sensitive that the popcorn scattered on the floor bothers me. I am irritated that you have to eat while watching a movie. Where is the respect? “

Simon Verhoeven: “I’m completely different. I grew up watching popcorn movies. “

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Family ties: Senta Berger with husband Michael Verhoeven (83) and son Simon

Family ties: Senta Berger with husband Michael Verhoeven (83) and son Simon Photo: Frank Zauritz

Berger: “I hear this man next to me and this rustling in the popcorn bag. That is terrible! Popcorn takes away the joy of cinema. “

Verhoeven: “The cell phones in the cinema are worse. But if it bothers you, you have to address it. “

Berger: “When I mention it, I get even more upset.”

Do you have a similar taste in movies?

Verhoeven: “When other families went to church on Sundays, we went to the movies. But of course I am also a child of my time. I grew up with Star Wars, Steven Spielberg. And thanks to my parents also with Billy Wilder, Truffaut and Chaplin, who was a kind of deity in our house. We still talk a lot about films. “

Berger: “This is a dialogue that is mainly led by Simon.”

As a mother, did you try to save your son from his job?

Berger: “Simon has definitely never let anything save him. And don’t let anyone warn you. “

Verhoeven: “I grew up with the inner world of filmmakers because of my parents. Not with the red carpets. Of course, I also noticed that people would look in the supermarket when I was shopping with my mother. But what I saw most of the time was my parents had to work really hard on scripts and film sets. Downright obsessive. “


Simon Verhoeven collects prizes on a shelf ...

Simon Verhoeven collects prizes on a shelf …Photo: Frank Zauritz

Will you work together again?

Verhoeven: “We could certainly have topped ‘Willkommen bei den Hartmanns’ again with a second part, but I decided against it. But I would really like to do another film with my mother. “

Berger: “I dont know.”

Verhoeven: “I already have ideas.”

Berger: “And the ideas that were never realized are always best remembered. But I’m not even bothering to make another film. My year was also so full. “


... his mother Senta Berger placed hers on the stairs

… his mother Senta Berger placed hers on the stairsPhoto: Frank Zauritz

Verhoeven: “You don’t have to play the uninteresting grandma who says anything.”

Berger: “In any case, I want to try to stop working. I have insane stage fright. When I do my readings, it’s okay once I’m on stage. But now I feel sick two days beforehand. Why do I have to do this to myself? I have become very thin-skinned in the last few years. Even more than I always have been. “


Senta Berger and Simon Verhoeven: Instead of going to church, they went to the cinema
Photo: BILD

You will both be awarded the German Film Prize on Friday. You, Ms. Berger, for your life’s work. You, Mr. Verhoeven, for “Nightlife”, the most successful film of 2020.

Berger: “I didn’t really realize it at first.”

Verhoeven: “I’m not so surprised by that. I always expected my mother to get the honorary award one day. For me, however, she would have deserved a Lola five years ago as the best actress for ‘Willkommen bei den Hartmanns’. “

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