Oliver Masucci, the star of The German, an Israeli series about the search for Nazi war criminal Josef Mengele, recently shared his experiences of filming the intense drama while the Israel-Hamas war raged around him. Despite the show’s already distressing subject matter, Masucci explained how the escalating conflict created a deeply unsettling environment during production.
While working on the series, Masucci and his co-stars faced the ongoing threat of rocket attacks, with as many as 40 to 60 rockets dropping on certain days. The production team was frequently forced to seek refuge in bomb shelters, making for an emotionally charged and dangerous atmosphere. Reflecting on the experience, Masucci expressed feeling “co-traumatized” by the situation, explaining how it affected his performance. “The inner movement and inner world of Uri, the character I play, is conflicted because he wants to move on with his life,” he said. “But you get co-traumatized while you’re there and start acting like the Israelis.”
Despite the turmoil, Masucci remained focused on his role, which involved acting in Hebrew—a language he had never spoken before. “It was a tough game,” he admitted. “The Hebrew symbols were transliterated into English, and I had to transform them into German syllables. It was a double transformation.”
Masucci’s portrayal of Uri, a character tasked with infiltrating a group of SS veterans to find Mengele, aligns with the show’s serious themes of post-WWII trauma. The series, co-created by Moshe Zonder, Assaf Gil, and Ronit Weiss-Berkowitz, delves into the complexities of history and identity, following Uri and Anna (played by Ania Bukstein) as they move to a kibbutz and get entangled in the high-stakes mission against Nazi criminals.
Masucci, known for his role as Adolf Hitler in the 2015 film Look Who’s Back, has become synonymous with intense historical roles, particularly those involving Nazi figures. However, he emphasized that these roles have never been a conscious choice. “It happens when you are German,” he explained. “But I have tried not to play too many Nazis. I completed the set with playing Hitler.”
The German marks another major project in Masucci’s career, following his success with Netflix’s Dark, a breakthrough series that helped propel his career to international recognition. Reflecting on his rise to global fame, he noted that Dark opened doors worldwide, making it possible for him to work in diverse international projects, including his recent role in an Icelandic production.
As The German competes in the Series Mania festival, Masucci’s commitment to his craft and his resilience in the face of adversity continue to captivate audiences and critics alike. The series is competing against high-profile shows such as Peacock’s Long Bright River and Sky’s Mussolini: Son of the Century.
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