Touring Berlin’s cinematic sites with “Altered Carbon” star Torben Liebrecht

Originally from Reinbek, located in the northern district of Hamburg, 42-year-old actor Torben Liebrecht now calls Berlin home. Long before he was the lead of the Netflix sci-fi smash Altered Carbon (2018–), he found himself drawn to the energy of the German capital. As an aspiring actor in Hamburg, he regularly visited Berlin, and vividly recalls the kinetic energy he felt as he made those first steps off the bus, mesmerised by the snappy rhythm of life in the metropolis. For him, the sheer pace of the city is one of the reasons it has become a creative hotbed.

Now an accomplished actor, Liebrecht has travelled worldwide but feels that the capital’s support and infrastructure for film sets it apart. For him, the city’s film funding body, Medienboard, as well as Berlin’s proximity to the oldest large-scale film studio in the world, Studio Babelsberg, offer unparalleled opportunities. The ability to shoot in locations which are all a drive away from each other is a boon, too, making the shooting experience effortless and streamlined.

Whilst being in the city during Berlinale time, Torben took the opportunity to escape the busy festival for a private ride, using the Audi e-tron for touring the capital as Audi provided a full-electric shuttle service for the event. Driving through Berlin and having a chat in the car, SLEEK and Liebrecht explore five of his favourite film locations.

The Westin Grand Hotel

Searching for a classic setting with a sophisticated aura, Liebrecht took us to the Westin Grand Hotel in Berlin’s buzzing central district, Mitte. Filming here is difficult, as its abundance of magnificent architectural features makes it feel criminal to risk losing a moment of its beauty by cutting a single shot. The actor remarks that the symmetry of the hotel’s interior court is primed for a Wes Anderson set. For a close-up of the hotel’s full grandeur, see Victoria (2015), a German crime thriller created using one continuous take.

Strausberger Platz

Liebrecht vividly remembers growing up in West Germany and watching Good Bye, Lenin! (2003) for the first time – a German film shot around Strausberger Platz, a prestige development of apartments in Friedrichshain built during the DDR. As he drives us around the Strausberger Platz fountain, he says the detail which the film’s director, Wolfgang Becker, employed in recreating the divided Cold War world was “incredible”, and recalls scenes from the movie in which the protagonist Alex cruises along the very same roads. Film is at its most touching, he says, when it finds a way to tap into your inner emotional world.

Kino International

The plush, blue velvet seats are one of the many highlights of Kino International, an establishment that feels like a celebration of elegant Sixties decor. Cinemas are homes away from home to Liebrecht, who was too impatient to wait for films to be released on VHS, resulting in him spending an ample portion of his youth with eyes glued to the silver screen. He says that Kino International feels like an ode to a departed era, one where cinema was at its pinnacle.

Clärchens Ballhaus

Shooting locations are vital backdrops for actors delivering immersive portrayals. Liebrecht recounts a moment from his role in Homeland (2011–), where the set was so believable that it made him completely forget where he was. To him, the aim of a film set is to make you feel like you are in another world. And when we arrive at the Clärchens Ballhaus it becomes apparent exactly what he means. The setting for a tense scene in Inglourious Basterds (2009), this vintage-mirrored hall and ballroom instantly transports us to Tarantino’s cinematic universe and beyond.

Oberbaumbrücke

Given its role in uniting Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg – Berlin boroughs that had been divided by the Berlin Wall – the Oberbaumbrücke is a tangible piece of history. Liebrecht suggests that when landmarks of history like this appear on screen, audiences form stronger levels of affinity with the narrative. He argues that, even though a film like The Bourne Supremacy (2004) is not entirely set in Berlin, the scene featuring the bridge reminds audiences that the fictional world and the real world can indeed be married together.

Electric power consumption combined: 24.6 – 23.7 kWh/100 km; CO2-emissions combined: 0 g/km // Further information: www.audi.com/dat

CREDITS

Photography by Ériver Hijano

Styling by Charlotte Gindreau

Grooming by Patricia Heck @ Nina Klein

Talent is Torben Liebrecht

With special thanks to The Westin Grand Hotel and Kino International