Interviews

April 3, 2008 email interview by Jo Weil and gaydaytime
Hi Jo, thanks for taking the time. First of all, welcome back to VERBOTENE LIEBE. I’m supposed to tell you from our readers that we’re glad to have you back and that you’ve become a lot more attractive since the Tom & Olli era. Are you trying to charm me to get some inside scoop?! :-) Seriously, I’m happy to be back, and even happier that fans are giving me such a great feedback right now. Before we start with the selected questions, I’ll just ask the one that is pretty much asked always. I’m sure you expected it: Is Jo Weil gay? And, by the way: Does Olli define as gay or bisexual, it seems that even the script isn’t sure about that? I’ve played a lot of straight characters – and I’ve never been asked whether I’m straight in real life. That’s how this question, which is asked almost always, makes it seem like playing gay/bisexual is something abnormal. And that’s why I choose not to answer it anymore :-). The character is into both men and women, but right now he’s got a major crush on Christian. You left Verbotene Liebe 5 years ago and joined again in November 2007. What changed for Jo and Olli and how does it feel is it to be back after such a long break? Olli’s time on the ship made him tougher. He started to manage his helper syndrome and is happy as long as he doesn’t have to think about tomorrow. And he finally found his big love with Christian. A lot of things have changed in my private life over the past 5 years as well. I had the chance to grow as an actor and play other amazing parts on TV and the stage. Especially the time with MEDICOPTER 117 was very formative for me. With all these new experiences it was great to return to VL – almost like coming home. Do you ever get negative reactions because your character is gay and how do you react to that? With few exceptions the feedback is almost always positive, so you forgot about the stupid comments pretty fast. But don’t forget that I live in Cologne, where people are very open and tolerant. I’ve got no idea how it would be in a small village – it might be more of an issue there. Right now, the YouTube videos of you and Thore’s first time alone have been viewed more than 30,000 times. How does that feel, to have fans all over the world all of a sudden? Well, it’s great of course! :-) I was really blown away when I noticed how this story is accepted by fans. Getting fan post from all over the world is the best feedback we can possibly get. And that we’re able to help people to stand up for themselves and their desires – that makes you proud. How do you and Thore get along? We are lucky to get along great. We have the same conscientious attitude to our job and the same kind of humor. We’ve become buddies through work and enjoy having a beer together. How much influence do you as actors have on the story? What would you not play at all as Olli, what would you like to play? No influence whatsoever. It’s exciting for us to learn what will happen to these characters as they go along. ‘I WON’T DO THAT’ shouldn’t exist in our job (Take note, American actors!! – Ed.) I’ll portray whatever the authors write for me – independent from how I feel about the story. The obstacles a character has to overcome are exciting – I’ll just be looking forward to what will happen to Olli. Which other Verbotene Liebe character would Oliver like to kiss besides Christian? Currently, Olli takes a more monogamous approach because of Christian – so nobody. Should his attitude become more relaxed on this over time – I think he thinks his cousin Olivia is really hot. Christian’s brother Gregor would be an option – that would make for two further ‘forbidden loves’. Verbotene Liebe is known for current couples having to confront their past. Do we have to get ready for Tom’s return? Ask the authors! :-) Anything goes in VL’s universe – but I believe Olli and Tom’s story has been told. Fans have been speculating that ‘Christian’ was planned as gay character all along. True- or how was that decision made? I honestly wouldn’t know. Do the creators follow the message boards and blogs? Everybody knows that the videos are on shaky legal grounds, but I assume that VERBOTENE LIEBE never had such a large audience. What is the behind-the-scenes take on that phenomenon? I don’t know how this is handled. Thore and I are thrilled that there’s such an international interest in this story. Getting the first interview requests from abroad – wow! I’ll have to say, we’re both surprised and proud! You and Thore have already moved up as a couple on the official website’s banner. Will the opening credits be changed and what can you tell us about upcoming story lines? Olli and Christian aren’t even officially a couple yet- but I don’t think I give away too much when I say that this will change VERY soon. They’ll be happy together, but there’ll be certain developments and events which will put their relationship to the test. If they’ll get through this together or fail – find out Mondays through Fridays at 6pm on Das Erste. Anything else you’d like to add? I would like to thank my fans for all the letters and emails. It’s simply a good feeling to know that you all like what I’m doing. THANKS SO MUCH!! However, I’m still waiting for my first fan mail from Canada and Italy respectively – they are still missing from my collection. If you’d like to get in touch with me, contact me at Jo Weil, c/o Verbotene Liebe, Studio 37/38, Butzweiler Str. 255, 50829 Köln, Germany And visit my homepage, www.joweil.de Greetings to everyone and keep enjoying Verbotene Liebe. Yours, Jo

Latest page update: made by sfl2wgs , Apr 3 2008, 4:23 PM EDT (about this update About This Update

Edited by sfl2wgs

No content added or deleted.
- complete history)

Keyword tags: April 2008 Episode Guide gast84 gaydaytime Jo Weil Oliver Verbotene Liebe

More Info: links to this page

Bookmark:

Del.icio.us

StumbleUpon Facebook

Start thread

Threads

Elrohir525

Regarding the interview with Jo Weil (page: 1 2)

Apr 8 2008, 8:10 PM EDT by Elrohir525

Thread started: Mar 27 2008, 12:51 PM EDT Watch

I was just thinking of some questions to ask Jo in his upcoming interview, and wondered if my fellow forumites could help me with some background information.

First, I've read that Jo is openly gay. Is this true, and is it OK for us to go there with our questions? Also, having never been to Germany, I was wondering what social conditions and the overall level of acceptance are like for gay men there, and particularly youths in elementary and secondary schools. Can anyone tell me?

Thanks very much for your help!

Rob

3 out of 3 found this valuable. Do you find this valuable? Do you?

Keyword tags: Interviews Jo Weil

Post reply

Show Last Reply

Subject:
Message:
Quote:
Keyword tags:

Any ideas for the site	Judith & Christian	Women's perspectives on Chrolli / Ollian
Spoilers	Confirmed Sightings	Episode 3167
Christian's Coming Out	Das Erste - Verbotene Liebe (Forbidden Love)	Episode 3161
Episode 3158	Episode 3157	Episode 3156

Interviews

Threads

Start a New Thread as Reply as Anonymous (Get credit for your thread)

Related Content