Q&A with Actor Stass Klassen

Film: Under Jakob's Ladder
Actor: Stass Klassen
Role: David

Q: What attracted you to want to work on this film?
A: The character, the screenplay, and the theme of the film, which is my family's history: my grandfather was a German Mennonite in the Soviet Union, and was sent to the labor camps by Stalin when the World War II broke out. My father and all of my uncles and their children live now in Germany in the Mennonite community near Münster, North Westfalia.

Q: Did your background help you prepare for your role?
A: I felt immediate affiliation to my character due to my background. Also, I had several very interesting conversations with my uncle in Germany, who is the head of the Mennonite community there. About the philosophy, way of life, and point of view of the Mennonites.

Q: Do you have any funny stories about working on the film?
A: We were shooting a night scene. The exterior scene in the prison yard. It was late April, and it was unseasonably cool, and the wind made it worse. But all the actors had to stay outside very lightly dressed as the prisoners in the film should be. Every actor was suffering, literally. And after another take, Robert [Munoz] cried: "Excellent! The prisoners look so miserable, that's what we need!" In other words, the cold did the job to make it look and feel very real.

Q: What was your favorite line of dialogue or scene from the movie?
A: "Be faithful unto death, and you'll be given the crown of life."

Q: What was the most challenging scene for you?
A: Since my character is very spiritual, all scenes were challenging, as the character himself.

Q: What did you enjoy the most about working on this film?
A: I enjoyed the great atmosphere, which was cheerful, and at times, mischievous, despite the grim subject of the film. And I believe that any act of art, no matter how grave and serious the subject of it is, can be done only in a cheerful and mischievous state of mind. I enjoyed working with Robert & Mann very much. There was thorough professionalism combined with great attitude toward colleagues and collaborators.

Q: Tell about your audition for this film.
A: I auditioned for another character. But then I got a call back, and Robert and Mann tried me for David. Except according to that version of the screenplay, my character was much older than I am! Then I got another call back, where Robert and Mann said to me that they were adjusting my character's age to my actual age. So they did!

Q: Who are your influences? Who inspires you as an actor?
A: I had two acting teachers in my life who I owe my life as an actor. One was at the beginning of my career, and the other one stayed through the crucial part of it. His name is Anatole Fourmantchouk. He was a student of Meyerhold's disciple in Moscow and a student of Les Kurbas's (Les Kurbas was the 'Ukrainian Meyerhold' so to speak, also killed by Stalin) assistant in Kiev, Ukraine. Among the actors who inspire me: Jean-Louis Barrault, Lawrence Olivier, Marlon Brando, Rod Steiger, Laurent Terzieff, Geoffrey Rush, Billy Crudup, etc.