Goodbye Erzgebirgskrimi: Lara Mandoki talks about saying goodbye

Lara Mandoki has been part of "Erzgebirgskrimi" as detective Karina Szabo from the very beginning, but her farewell is sealed. In the episode "Mordholz", she goes on a murder hunt in the Ore Mountains for the penultimate time. "I found the Saxons to be very open-hearted, warm and loving," she says in retrospect in an interview with the German Press Agency. Why she is leaving anyway, where she will soon be seen and how she views the developments in her second home country of Hungary.

Question: The last episode of the Erzgebirgskrimis with you has been filmed and is due to be broadcast this year. This marks the end for you after seven years. What do you remember in particular?

Answer: When I started back then, I felt it was a great privilege to be able to go to the East, because I'm also Hungarian. I have another emotional heart for the East than if I had only grown up in Bavaria. I have found the Saxons to be very open-hearted, warm and loving. I'm grateful that I was also able to represent this region.

Question: You've been in the role of Karina Szabo from the very beginning - longer than your colleague Kai Scheve. Why did you leave?

Answer: ZDF has now commissioned three episodes per year. Because filming mainly takes place in the summer season, that would mean that I can hardly take on any other projects. But since it's important for me to shoot other projects as well, I took this step with a heavy heart.

Question: There is a glut of crime dramas on German television anyway. Do you sometimes think: No, please not another crime thriller.

Answer: Well, we filmmakers sometimes think that. But if viewers love watching crime thrillers so much, then the industry reacts and there are more crime thrillers, which can also be well-made and relevant films.

Question: After all, you can address socially important topics for an audience of millions.

Answer: Absolutely. We've done that again and again in Erzgebirgskrimi. In the new episode "Mordholz", for example, there is a current reference to the war in Ukraine, which I find very exciting. It makes the material very relevant. I would also think it would be good if the films focused more on younger and progressive women. Especially in the East, there are women in the middle class who are very successful. I find that remarkable. Women are in the spotlight in a completely different way than female entrepreneurs, who emanate a future-oriented spirit. More stories should be told about this.

Question: You now want to devote yourself more intensively to other projects. Which ones?

Answer: I've just shot a movie and I'm working on two other projects that I'm not allowed to talk about yet. But I can definitely say that I can be seen in cinemas from August with "Steckerlfischfiasko" from the Eberhofer series. I play a leading role in it, a Hungarian woman.

Question: You grew up in Bavaria, but have Hungarian roots and speak Hungarian fluently. How close are you to the country?

Answer: Hungarian is my mother tongue. My father fled from there in 1976, my maternal grandparents in 1956 after the revolution. I feel 80 percent Hungarian and maybe 20 percent Bavarian. I've never felt German, but 100 percent European.

Question: Under Viktor Orbán, Hungary has developed in a strongly nationalistic direction. How do you perceive what is happening?

Answer: I follow the political developments and am also in Budapest a lot. I think that the only answer to the future for Europe can be more Europe. Because we are much stronger together than alone. I would like Hungary to show more solidarity within the EU. There will be new elections in mid-April and I think that will have an exciting outcome.

Question: Your father is a musician and music producer and you took singing lessons during your studies. Many actors also perform with music programs - you too soon?

Answer: No, I can't sing. That's why I became an actress. There will definitely not be a concert program from me. (laughs)

Question: You have appeared in numerous film and theater productions. The Erzgebirgskrimi on Saturday evenings has an enormous reach. This has given you an even greater presence.

Answer: Absolutely. The Erzgebirgskrimi has been my most important project to date, partly because it has been with me for so long. I have the feeling that I was allowed to grow up in this project, with this character. That's why my departure is now logical.

Question: Like moving out of my parents'

Answer: That's how it feels, yes.

About the person: Lara Mandoki has been with ZDF-Erzgebirgskrimi from the very beginning. She studied acting in Munich and Los Angeles. The 36-year-old has appeared in front of the camera for numerous film and television projects: in the multi-part "Die Holzbaronin", in the comedy "Gut zu Vögeln" as well as in the series "Das Boot". She lives in Munich.