Eva Marlen Hirschburger on Portraying the Weight of Guilt and Grief

A charter bus. A devastating crash. And in its wake, lives shattered beyond recognition. When a person dies in a traffic accident, statistics show that 113 people are affected by this tragedy. The series Hundertdreizehn (One Hundred Thirteen) transforms this statistic into interconnected individual fates, exploring on a deeper level the universal questions of guilt and responsibility.

For the bus driver Theo’s (Felix Kramer) family, grief is only the beginning, as they soon discover that everything they believed about their life was a lie. At the heart of this deception are Caro (Patricia Aulitzky) and her daughter Salma Novak (Allegra Tinnefeld) alongside Riccarda Hövemann (Anna Schudt) and her daughter Ela Hövermann (Eva Marlen Hirschburger), whose secrets may hold the key to understanding what really happened. As investigators Anne Goldmundt (Lia von Blarer) and Jan Auschra (Robert Stadlober) dig deeper into the case that opens Hundertdreizehn, one question haunts them: was this accident truly an accident at all?

Ahead of the series’ release in the ARD Mediathek this Friday, October 10th, 2025, Eva Marlen Hirschburger, who plays Ela Hövermann, talks about guilt, grief, and the emotional toll of bringing an all-too-real tragedy to life.

Svenja Glintschert This is your first major interview as an actress. Let’s start at the beginning – what made you fall in love with acting as an artistic practice?

Eva Marlen Hirschburger When I was about six years old I was completely mesmerized by the Sissi films with Romy Schneider – there was something so alive and magnetic about her performance. Then I noticed that one of the actors in the credits had the same last name as my mother, and suddenly the world of film didn’t feel so far away anymore. From then on, the more movies I watched, the stronger my own desire to act became.

SG Tell us about your acting journey. How did you get to where you are now? 

EH Playing Mila in Die Therapie (The Therapy), an Amazon Prime thriller based on Sebastian Fitzek’s work, was really a way to test the waters and to find out whether acting was just a childhood dream or something I could truly grow into. I had never been on a set before, so I expected to feel nervous or out of place. But once the camera started rolling, that feeling disappeared completely, probably because there was simply no time to overthink it.

What really stayed with me was the warmth and openness of everyone on set. The atmosphere was so collaborative that it made me realize how much can be created when people work together with trust and curiosity. That first experience was a bit of a lucky break, and it made one thing clear to me: now there’s no turning back anymore.

SG What drew you to Hundertdreizehn? Was there something specific about the script or the character of Ela that resonated with you immediately?

EH There’s something fascinating about characters you can’t fully read at first glance. With Ela, her entire world falls apart, and only then does she realize it was never the only world she lived in. That complexity really spoke to me.

What I really loved about Hundertdreizehn is how it explores so many different perspectives around a single tragedy. It doesn’t shy away from pain, but it also finds humanity and depth in it. There’s something incredibly powerful about that balance.

I was also inspired by Ela’s complex relationship with Salma, played by Allegra Tinnefeld. I don’t want to give too much away, but fate brings them together, and despite early challenges, they develop a really compelling bond. That process almost naturally led to us becoming very close friends off-set as well.

SG You got to work with accomplished actors like Anna Schudt on this project. What were you able to take away from this experience?

EH Anger, grief, and aggression are some of the most intimate emotions you can portray. It’s easy to have fun with someone, but portraying these raw emotions requires (and benefits from) a positive and trusting relationship with your fellow actors. Both Trystan Pütter on Die Therapie and Anna Schudt on Hundertdreizehn gave me that completely. Their openness and charisma made me feel safe enough to let the emotions flow freely. With that kind of trust on set, I was able to fully immerse myself in both roles and give everything I had to the characters.

SG The series deals with the aftermath of a bus accident, confronting a painful reality. How do you prepare for a role this emotionally demanding, and where do you draw inspiration for these intense emotional moments?

EH We’re constantly confronted with accidents from all around the world in the news, often reduced to numbers in a headline. Individual stories and the lives behind them are easily forgotten. Arndt Stüwe’s script focuses on exactly those personal stories, making their realities so vivid that for preparing the role of Ela, I hardly needed external inspiration. The sheer weight of her story carried enough emotional force that, at times, I was almost overwhelmed by it. Of course, my incredible co-actors and the remarkable set also played a huge part in bringing those emotions to life.

SG You appeared in Die Therapie before taking on your role in Hundertdreizehn. What experiences were you able to carry over from your first role to your most recent one?

EH One of many things I took from working on Die Therapie was learning how to navigate emotionally intense scenes while staying grounded. Playing Mila gave me a sense of how to inhabit a character fully without losing myself, and how to manage those emotions between takes. I also learned practical skills, like adjusting quickly to different camera setups and working closely with the director to find the right tone for a scene. That experience made it easier to step into Ela’s story and focus on her emotions from the very first day on set.

SG You mentioned that the guilt your character Ela experienced felt like a physical burden that even showed in your posture. Can you describe a specific moment on set where these emotions became almost overwhelming?

EH From the very beginning, Ela carried a sense of guilt for what had happened. Stepping into that emotional space added another layer of intensity to the role. In one scene, Ela throws a model of her father’s bus against the wall in anger, a moment that captures her inner turmoil.

Filming it pulled me in so completely that even after the take ended, I was still overwhelmed by the emotions. The tears didn’t stop immediately, and I could feel the heaviness in my body lingering. Those moments kept reminding me that this wasn’t just a story we were acting out. We were portraying a real tragedy, a real number, 113. That awareness made every choice on set feel meaningful and demanded a level of presence and honesty that was both challenging and incredibly important.

SG You’ve said the story never felt like fiction to you. What made it feel so real? 

EH Ela’s character isn’t written like a typical teenager; she’s grappling with guilt, grief, and the overwhelming consequences of a tragedy, which gives her journey a raw intensity. The script was already very authentic, but the locations added another layer.

One of the most striking was the hangar, which the police used as a large investigation space to reconstruct the accident. Inside, the burned-out bus and wrecked cars were surrounded by photos of the people affected. The set design went beyond visuals. Just being there made the story feel alive.

SG Inspiration and art often play a role in preparing for emotionally demanding roles. Were there any songs, films, or other works that helped you connect with Ela’s journey?

EH Imagining what kind of films or music a character would be drawn to always helps me step more fully into her perspective. During this time, I put together a whole playlist that helped me connect with Ela and her journey. Many of the songs I chose are ones I associate with Cologne, since that’s where she grew up.

I also drew a lot of inspiration from the films of Paul Thomas Anderson. Even though the subject matter is very different, the essence is similar: both explore how many individual lives can intersect and influence each other. In his films, people who might never have crossed paths suddenly find their stories intertwined – and in Hundertdreizehn, you see a similar web of human connection emerging after a tragic event. Thinking about it this way helped me understand the subtle ways Ela’s life is shaped by everyone around her.

SG Without giving too much away, do you have a favourite scene or episode from Hundertdreizehn, and if so, what makes it stand out for you?

EH I honestly couldn’t pick one favourite – I love the series as a whole. But one that always makes me laugh involves the dog PeterGabriel (spelled as one word, which is very important to his owner, Jan Auschra). In this scene, PeterGabriel wanders through the hangar and gets fed and petted by everyone except Anne, one of the investigators. She’s so focused and self-contained that she just looks at him like, “What is your problem?” It’s such a small, almost absurd moment, but it adds a touch of humor and humanity to a story that’s otherwise very heavy.

SG Despite the heaviness of the subject matter, you mentioned there was a lot of laughter on set. Can you tell us more about that atmosphere? 

EH We had an amazing time on set. Being part of a German-Austrian co-production made it feel ur- leiwand. We enjoyed sharing Manner Schnitten, exploring Vienna, and learning austrian words. Looking back, people like Rick Ostermann, our director, really set the tone. Despite the weight of the subject matter, the atmosphere on set was full of energy and it reminded all of us how much we enjoyed being there together.

SG As we wrap up, what do you hope viewers take away from Hundertdreizehn? 

EH Hopefully, the series leaves viewers moved by the characters and their journeys. Even in a story centered on tragedy, there are moments of connection, subtle humor, and unexpected humanity. I want audiences to remember the emotional truth of the story, the relationships that give it depth, and to carry that sense of empathy and reflection with them.

SG You’re just at the beginning of your acting career. What are your aspirations? Where do you see yourself going?

EH There’s still so much to discover on this path, and that sense of possibility is what excites me most. Every project opens a new world, a new way of seeing things, and I want to keep approaching each role with that same curiosity and sense of discovery. I’m drawn to characters who don’t make sense at first glance – people who are complex, unpredictable, maybe even a little contradictory.

Looking ahead, I want to keep working on projects that take risks, that don’t shy away from difficult truths or unconventional storytelling. I’m interested in films that blur the line between reality and imagination, where the world feels slightly off, yet everything about the characters feels painfully real. More than anything, I’m excited to grow in this industry, to learn from and collaborate with the many talented and warmhearted people around me, and to keep exploring what I can do as an actress.