Sunnyi Melles: “I can stand being considered complicated”
Published: Saturday, Nov 30th 2024, 15:30
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Sunnyi Melles, who caused a stir this year with her roles in the series "Die Zweiflers" (ARD) and "Becoming Karl Lagerfeld" (Disney+), says she has no problem being considered complicated. "The second Sunnyi in me often says: "Stop, don't say anything now and don't be a troublemaker!" But then Sunnyi does say it. The more open a person is, the freer they are. I can stand being considered complicated because of that," says Melles (66) in an interview with "Icon", the magazine of "Welt am Sonntag". And: "I'm not difficult, but I love the reputation. I demand something from directors and colleagues and expect that mistakes can be made."
Melles received unforgettable praise from Brad Pitt
Thanks to her role and the really blatant vomit scene in "Triangle of Sadness", the 2022 Cannes winner, Melles is very well recognized in the film world. When asked which judgment about herself she has not forgotten to this day, she says: "I'll never forget when Brad Pitt came up to me in Paris and said: 'I know you. I saw 'Triangle of Sadness' twice. You were fantastic!"."
Melles explains in "Icon": "People often laugh and I think: What have I done now? I never drink alcohol and maybe I do what other people do when they're drunk." She doesn't notice any occupational illnesses. "The most you could say to me is: "Don't stare like that!" I love watching people and can't stop wondering what they're thinking." Melles also confesses: "I'm not a nature person. I prefer parsley in my soup."
Parents fled Hungary because they were no longer allowed to say what they thought
Born in Luxembourg, Melles, who now has Swiss citizenship, has a turbulent family history. "My parents fled Hungary because they were no longer allowed to say what they thought. That has shaped me my whole life. Opportunism is bad, because life and art are about honesty and truth."
No matter what role she played on stage, "there was always a moment when the audience could laugh at me". "That's a gift I inherited from my mother. Although she fled from Stalinism in Hungary to Switzerland in 1956 and we struggled to survive in Basel as stateless people without passports for 15 years, we never lost our sense of humor. My daughter is a fourth-generation actress. When our nerves are frayed, we laugh together. It runs in the family."
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