In Conversation with Lea van Acken: As a society, we can only move toward a future we’re able to imagine

Lea van Acken: Well, definitely working in a team was a huge factor for me. That’s just something that still totally grabs me today. Whenever many people come together and create something, that was definitely something that brought me a lot of joy. And then of course the possibility of diving into new worlds. I really love transforming myself and bringing characters to life. I think that’s what totally hooked me. And when I was on a film set for the first time, I thought, “Oh wow, this actually works and it’s fun, I want to do this.”

Honestly, a lot of silence. I’m very much on team “just let the thoughts run for a while.” But I also really love listening to an audiobook together. For example, I once listened to Humankind by Rutger Bregman with friends during a drive. We listened to the whole thing and talked about it afterwards. That was really nice because it’s kind of like reading a book together. You don’t get through a nonfiction book that quickly either. I really enjoyed that.

Right now I really enjoy Maja Göpel’s new podcast Neu Denken. It’s very cool. Maja Göpel is basically the leading transformation researcher in Germany. She talks a lot about topics like transformation and climate protection. She’s wonderful and very smart. Otherwise, I like listening to various Deutschlandfunk podcasts. Strangely, I still haven’t found a proper lifestyle podcast.

Yeah, I do like watching entertainment and fun stuff, like Friends and some romcoms and so on. But when I read or listen to podcasts, I’m more in the mood for something that teaches me something new. I find that exciting. But I also think it’s because I just haven’t really found an entertainment podcast that truly appeals to me.

I almost always have a to-go cup with me, so when you get a coffee you always have your Recup or something. I have a pretty awesome one, it’s also a thermos, so it keeps things warm. Otherwise you have one of those paper cups, and your coffee is cold again after ten minutes. I also always have Fisherman’s Friend or chewing gum in the car. Usually some kind of snack too, like nuts, just something to snack on. A pen, in case you need to write something down. But aside from that, I like to keep things cleared out, honestly. I don’t know, it stresses me out when everything is all mixed up. I think sometimes it’s because I have so much going on in my head that my surroundings need to be tidy. But I mean, it doesn’t always work out.

It’s absolutely necessary, for sure. Of course more research needs to be done, and I also believe any kind of sustainable development always has to go hand in hand with less consumption. We can’t just think every car should simply become an electric car – instead, out of every ten cars, only two should remain, and those two should be electric. But it’s incredibly important that step by step we completely phase out combustion engines and find new solutions. And I actually drive an electric car now too – the Opel E-Combo – because you can fit so much in it, and I can even go camping and sleep in it. It really slows me down in a good way. I like that you have to think for a moment about where and how to charge, that you have to take breaks, and that you drive much more consciously. I see all of that more as joy and an invitation.

I think it’s great that they were the first car manufacturer to offer every model purely electric, which shows their willingness to say: we believe in electric mobility, this possibility exists, this change is happening. I also think it’s great that they say, we’re now combining a rally car – the fun of fossil-fuel motorsport – with something electric. You get the feeling it’s a very family-like team, that there’s heart in it, and that they try to carry forward certain values, even though it’s a big company. And yes, I think we also need that future-oriented spirit in entrepreneurship. Especially from Germany, because things are a bit low at the moment, and if Opel is excited to move in that direction – please, go!

Definitely not the solution. There is no single solution, everything has to work together. I think it’s really dangerous to rely only on technological developments. You can see that – as our wonderful chancellor says. The wonderful one. I can hardly deal with it anymore. No, of course we also need technologies but I think what we need most, to put it a bit hardcore, is a system change. Things need to become more socially circular, because exploitation has its limits. We’re already seeing that, and technically it will remain the same. It will always be dependent on raw materials, which means we need to think of new ways for economies to interact — which again affects the social dimension. We definitely shouldn’t rely on technology coming in to remove CO₂ from the atmosphere so that we can just keep exploiting the world and nature. That’s why we need to consider several solutions together.

Yes and they’re getting an award now for their sustainability efforts, really cool.

Yes, we’re involved indirectly too, unfortunately we just won’t be at the award ceremony. I’m performing in a play that very day. But yes, it’s really great, because the whole team from the Lola, the German Film Award, has fought so many battles. I mean, what an outcry it was when they offered only vegetarian catering for the first time, about six years ago or so. Honestly, people wrote emails saying they needed their sausage. And I’m thinking: you’re invited for one evening, you’re not getting it. The team is trying to make as much happen as possible, step by step, and it’s just really wonderful. Since 2019 the German Film Award has been completely meat-free.

They approached us at some point, and I think Lucas and Maria, the other sustainability ambassadors, and I had always been somewhat engaged with climate protection, so it made total sense. Combining the attention of pop culture with sustainability and transformation is something I find very exciting. Both in the processes of how we make and produce things, but of course also in how we tell stories. Because in the end, that’s what moves people. People want to hear stories, people want to be touched, and ideally that leads to change. And I think our industry has a very big responsibility there.

I’m very much on the path of hope and try to keep spreading hope, amid all the regression we’re perceiving right now. Because I think fear paralyzes us – it can move us briefly, but then we need to feel that we have agency and that we can do something. That means we need hope. And I believe that as an actress, and in the creative industry in general, you can tell stories about hope and positive visions of the future, you can convey that to people, and in doing so maybe also promote communication. And that’s something I’m trying to actively step into, because as a society, we can only move toward a future we’re able to imagine. And right now I think things are very dangerous in Germany, because it feels like everyone is getting super tired – tired of politics and tired of climate protection – even though right now it’s more important than ever that we stay active and awake.

In every step, really, whether it’s transportation, what the catering looks like, or which hotels we stay in. You can keep it in mind at every stage. Sometimes it’s the small things, like asking: hey, do we actually need paper cups, or is there a way to just have dishes that can be washed and reused? I think if everyone in a production team reflects within their own department, then a lot of creative new ideas become possible. And a lot is already changing. And of course, in the end you also look at the script. You ask yourself: wait, is it good to convey this message, or do we want to communicate something else?

Yes, and then of course there are also the big ones. What I find super interesting is that, as part of my sustainability work for the Film Award, I had the chance to talk to a Green Consultant. They’re the ones in productions who oversee the sustainability guidelines. And she told me that it isn’t more expensive to produce in a greener, more sustainable way. But it’s pointless to bring in a Green Consultant at the very end, once all the finances are already set, and then say: now please make everything sustainable. That person needs to be present from the beginning – during the financing discussions and the initial planning meetings – and say: hey, I’ll talk to the makeup department now, I’ll make them aware early on of which products they can use. And then, in the end, it’s not much more expensive. She said it might be about 1%, and you can compensate for that by saving money elsewhere. And I think that’s something we see so often in our world: people only start thinking about sustainability at the very end, and then of course it becomes more expensive. But if you think differently from the start, so much more is possible.

Something totally random came to mind – for Anne Frank, I often had to speak directly into the camera, and the director sometimes said: don’t blink so much. So I trained myself not to blink as often. A completely random skill that I don’t need otherwise. But sometimes it’s exactly those little things. You learn small tricks and details. What else have I learned? I learned a bit of guitar. That’s one of the beautiful things about this profession, you always get to try new things. And there’s also this constant work on physical presence and voice. In my first role, I spent a lot of time focusing on posture, how to open up, and how to let go of that posture again.

Always, definitely, especially during the actual shooting period, because you spend twelve hours a day identifying with this character. You start thinking about what the character listens to, who their friends are, and so on. I experienced that very strongly with Anne Frank. During preparation, I started writing her letters, because I kept thinking: who am I to presume that I can play her and turn her most intimate thoughts into something of my own? And even afterwards, for a long time, I continued writing diary entries to her because the role had affected me so deeply. Even now, when it comes to humanitarian crises, I still find myself thinking how much I would love to know what she would have said, because I found it so extraordinary how, at just twelve or thirteen, she wrote about humanity and even about male egos. That’s why I would find it incredibly fascinating to know her thoughts.

Yes, somehow always. It was much more intense for a long time after filming, but I think she will probably always be a part of me in some way.

It’s a mix. Part of it comes from a very strong personal will, for the children I may have one day and the children who already exist. Then a large part comes from facts, because many of the “facts” that feed pessimism simply aren’t true and can be disproven scientifically. Even now, if we change a lot, we can still meet the 1.5-degree target. And then, more broadly, I always look at what is already happening. Especially when I read bad news, I afterwards actively look at who around me is already doing something. There are so many good initiatives. I think we shouldn’t let ourselves be convinced that the bad things are so much bigger.

Yes, that’s so important. When I hear strong pessimism and people say it’s too late, I always think: It can never be too late for our future. And instead of focusing on the crisis, we should focus on how we could find new visions and ways to create an even better world than we are used to. I recently heard in a SWR- Wissen Podcast: There is always an „After” – after the crisis – so how do we want this „After” to look like? We need to tackle things now, they won’t simply get better over time.