Hochmair reveals

“Everyman will be completely different this year”

The Jedermann premiere with Philipp Hochmair is currently three times overbooked(Bild: Stephan Brückler)

Actor Philipp Hochmair spoke to the "Krone" about great expectations and why he loves going barefoot.

The new Jedermann Philipp Hochmair will hopefully not get cold feet before his guest performance at the Kulturforum Hallein on March 8. Less in a figurative sense than in an actual one. Because the actor can often be found without shoes. This has not only become a ritual during breaks in filming, he even walks through the city "bottomless" from time to time. "Walking barefoot through the world grounds me and makes me happy," says Hochmair.

He will need the grounding all the more from summer at the latest. The Jedermann premiere with the 50-year-old in the leading role is currently overbooked three times. An unprecedented record demand. Not only did the sudden dismissal of the old ensemble make the headlines, Hochmair himself continues to fuel the public's curiosity. He wants to take on the role of Jedermann in a completely new way for his comeback: "My approach will definitely be different, completely different. That's what makes it so exciting. In 2018, it was a spontaneous, overnight stand-in. Now we're going to develop something completely new together and I'm really looking forward to it."

Hochmair sees breathing new life into classic texts, such as those by Hofmannsthal, as a challenge: "I often ask myself, does it even work? And exploring and trying it out keeps me very busy. To seek and create a connection between then and now, to stimulate a dialog," says Hochmair.

Hochmair will also be tackling a classic at the Kulturforum Hallein on March 8. Together with his band, the "Elektrohand Gottes", he will bring Adalbert Stifter's novella "Der Hagestolz" to life with progressive beats and sounds. The story from 1844 deals with universal, timeless themes such as marriage, starting a family and genealogy, which confront the question of future prospects, freedom and security. Hochmair associates this type of literature with one thing above all: "A longing for cultural orientation, for a collection of eternal stories that everyone knows or should know, away from streaming services and the like." However, even he cannot completely escape the "fast" life: at the recently concluded Berlinale, the mime turned out to be a real party hopper.