Long gone are the loud disco days with which Ilja Richter reached an audience of millions and made a name for himself with outstanding entertainment artistry. By now he is far better known to audiences as an intellectual actor who has built a great career in the theatre. On television he often chooses the small but fine roles instead. "I choose a role according to whether the character appeals to me and is interestingly conceived. Whether it's a big role or a rather small one. Because sometimes it is precisely the small roles that make a film special." Recently, for example, he decided to play the father of a successful rock star — played by Tom Beck — in the film "Dein Song", because he found it exciting that new role types were now opening up to him at nearly 65. "You have to reach a certain age to be credible as a youthful grandfather," Ilja Richter laughs. But he can do something quite different too. In the summer, for the Burgfestspiele in Jagsthausen, he will slip into the role of the cool FBI agent Carl Hanratty, who in "Catch Me If You Can" sets out to put the master of deception, Frank Abagnale, behind bars. "Carl Hanratty is an angry grey mouse in the army of many grey mice. Tom Hanks played him superbly in the film, but I find my own way into the character. I don't let myself be guided by images that already exist." And so it is the major theatre productions, planned far in advance, that sometimes deny him the chance to accept role offers from the faster-moving world of film and television. For even though the premiere of "Catch Me If You Can" will not be until 1 June 2017, with rehearsals beginning a few weeks earlier, the production booked Ilja Richter for the role a full year in advance. Just as the Altonaer Theater — which fills the renowned Thalia Theater in Hamburg with this musical during the summer break — has already signed Ilja Richter for "Catch Me If You Can" for the summer of 2018. They all want the best Carl Hanratty they can get. The true story of a con man A successful opening of the Burgfestspiele in Jagsthausen Standing ovations for the musical "Catch Me If You Can"
The Master of Understatement
