LEXX: Louise Wischermann is interviewed by thefrey

Interviewer: thefrey (Moderator – Sadboard)
Date: March 2003
Where: Texas, USA

Ms. Wischermann mainly lives these days in Toronto with her husband who is a designer. She recently spent two and a half months this summer in her native Brazil filming ‘Redemption’ with director Claudio Torres.

The movie gets it title from the huge statue of Christ with arms out stretched that over looks and protects the city of Rio. ‘Rendentor’ is the Brazilian name for both the statue and the film.

theFrey – How did you actually first get cast on the first episode you did of Lexx? Just random call to your agent? What?

Ms. Wischermann – I was living in Germany after just completing my actors training at the Gmelin School of Dramatic Arts in Munich, when I was sent on a casting call to audition for the role of Zev. As we all know, this role was given to Ms. Seeberg but they liked my audition so much that they asked me if I would like to play another character, and thus Lyekka was born.

theFrey – Were you surprised when they kept asking you back?

Ms. Wischermann – Originally, Lyekka was only suppose to be in one episode, but the character when over so well with the fans that they kept writing additional parts for me. (We then discussed the …. Outfits. I asked her what was up with the costume department that Lyekka was always wearing some kind of flower pot on her head? Symbolic of Lyekka being a plant woman no doubt, but didn’t she get tired of it? She laughed and admitted that it got a bit old and that she sometime asked them to put flowers on her outfit so she didn’t have to wear the pot of the day on her head. But then also there were days when it was just fine with her, “Yeah, sure, give me the flower pot.”)

theFrey – What was the funniest thing that ever happened while working on Lexx?

Ms. Wischermann – Possible the strangest shoot on Lexx was the one where Lyekka was born. It was a bit strange being born from the pod all covered in silicon goo. (While the non-drying goo wasn’t too uncomfortable, it was a bit cool wearing it all day long and felt really strange.)

Lexx was the most weird and fun show that I have ever been on. For instance when I did the section in Potataho where I appeared to the astronauts while they were dreaming? To get the look they wanted for that scene, I ended up perched high in the air on a bicycle seat affixed to a stainless steel bar. (Ed. Note: She also had safety wires attached to a harness under her outfit, but I imagine that it made for a unusual experience trying to emote while being perched on a itty bitty seat high in the air. Fortunately for Louise, and indeed the director, she was able to take it well in stride, as heights do not bother her. She admitted to enjoying both skydiving and hang gliding, so she wasn’t really fazed at all.)

theFrey – Who was your favorite actor to work with on Lexx?

Ms. Wischermann – I enjoyed Patricia Zentilli and Xenia and especially Brian. He is so great to work with, because no matter what he always gives everything to his performance and is always ready to help anyone out, no matter what it takes. (Ed. Note: Ms. W. truly enjoyed working with everyone on Lexx because it became a big family. In fact while we were doing this interview, Ms. Z was in her living room watching television, they keep in close contact with each other.)

theFrey – Who was your favorite craft person to work with?

Ms. Wischermann – My favorite…. I guess that would have to be Les the Director of Photography, but the entire crew was wonderful. Since we spend so much time in makeup we always become close to them, but the rest were wonderful. (Ed. Note: She has fond memories of the cameramen, carpenters, even the prop people, she said they were all really great to be around and a pleasure to work with.)

theFrey – You like Jazz correct? Did you ever chat about this with Mr. Downey?

Ms. Wischermann – I do love jazz. I have a band in Toronto you know. I never had much of a chance to talk to Brian about Jazz, but he said he is coming to Toronto in a few weeks, so maybe he will be able to come hear me play. (Ed. Note: Her band, Luca Life, plays Bossanova music. They have been playing twice a month at the Rivoli in Toronto, and may soon start playing occasionally at a new place being opened called Czehoski.

theFrey – Do you play an instrument or sing?

Ms. Wischermann – I only sing. I wish I could play an instrument, but I can’t. My husband gave me a guitar for Christmas last year, but it is soooooo hard to learn, that I had to take a break from it. (Ed. Note: Louise does admit to taking the obligatory piano lessons for four years. But she added, “Even though I occasional tap out a tune, you could not really say I still know how, since I never really practiced after my four years of lessons were up.)

theFrey – Have you ever done any modeling?

Ms. Wischermann – I modeled a bit when I was a teenager, and enjoyed it. (Ed. Note: I then asked which was harder, acting or modeling? She said that she liked both, but she didn’t get to do as much modeling as she would have liked. But she also went on to say that if you really love something, it is not hard at all. So since her heart is in acting, what might seem tedious to others does not bother her at all.)

theFrey – What kind of fencing do you do?

Ms. Wischermann – I took fencing for three years while I was at Gmelin München, an academy of Dramatic Arts in Munich Germany. The academy believed that developing the stamina and quick reactions required by fencing would translate into acting. Which seems reasonable, as live acting frequently does require quick reactions, and both stage and film can require lots of stamina at certain times.

theFrey – How old were you when you first realized you wanted to be an actress?

Ms. Wischermann – Well I first worked in television at the age of twelve, and then when I was sixteen I was a series. I was nineteen when I left Brazil to go to school in Germany. I was twenty-four when I auditioned for Lexx.

theFrey – What did your family say when you told them you were going to be an actress?

Ms. Wischermann – My family was cool with it, but were not huge fans of the idea. But, they said if I wanted to do this, I needed to go to school and learn to do it right. Now they like it. (Ed. Note: Ms. W has three siblings, two brothers and a sister. She is a middle child, but has not ever had any middle child issues. Sooooo I guess that means that theBrother is WRONG! Not all middles whine about it! 🙂 )

theFrey – Is there anyone in particular you would really like to work with?

Ms. Wischermann – No, not really. There are so many unknowns, that working with a particular individual is only part of it. I want to work on a good product, and would rather focus on having a good group than on working with any one director or particular actor.

theFrey – Do you have any hobbies? And if so how do you peruse them when shooting?

Ms. Wischermann – My hobbies while shooting are mainly just reading and listening to music, and of course working on my next scene, but Ms. Seeberg is teaching me how to sew. Xenia is quite the accomplished seamstress and spends a lot of her time between sets working on her sewing.

theFrey – What is the one thing that you think is necessary for someone to succeed in becoming and actress?

Ms. Wischermann – I think you have to be good at relationships, and not only between yourself and the other cast members. More important that that sometimes is how well you relate to the craft people. They are very important to your success in acting. If you walk around having Starlet attacks, you will never succeed

We then chatted for a few minutes about general stuff. Ms. W asked if I was in Texas, I told her that yes, I live there, but right at them moment I am in a hotel in Sheevesport. She laughed and asked me what I was doing there? I explained that every now and them we come to the Horseshoe so theSpouse can gamble and I can get some work done since I don’t gamble. She laughed, and admitted that she does a bit of Black jack on occasion, but only occasionally, since she can get carried away. But in general Ms. W and I feel the same on this topic. As she says, “I work too hard for my money to be just giving it away.” Amen to that. (Ed. Note: theSpouse had an excellent trip this time and I was required to cash in many, many chips before he could give them back.Doubtless the pit bosses thought many bad things about me.)

The talented Ms. Wischermann speaks four languages, Portuguese, German, Spanish, and English. And while she is currently concentrating on her career in Canada, working in movies and with her band, she will also be returning to Brazil this summer, to talk about a series that she might do there. She was a complete delight to talk to, despite the weather making my cell phone a tad wonky. I was delighted to meet her in Orlando earlier this month, where she of course charmed and delighted all the Lexxians she came in contact with.

I know I can speak for all Lexxians, when I wish her every success in her future endeavors. Sunday Feb 16th, 2003

Film

“Wache, Die” (1994) TV Series …. (2000-)

“Aquarela do Brasil” (2000) (mini) TV Series

“Mallorca – Suche nach dem Paradies” (1998) TV Series …. Carmen Diaz

“Lexx” (1997) TV Series …. Lyekka

… aka “Lexx: The Dark Zone Stories” (1997) (Canada: English title)

… aka “Lexx: The Series” (1997)

… aka “Tales from a Parallel Universe” (2000) (USA: first season title)

“Marienhof” (1992) TV Series

… aka “Marienhof: Es wird viel passieren” (1995) (Germany: new title)

“Filhos do Sol” (1991) (mini) TV Series

“Xou da Xuxa” (1987) (V) …. Pituxa

Notable TV Appearances

“Lexx” (1997) in episode: “Lyekka vs. Japan” (episode # 4.23) 2002

“Lexx” (1997) playing “Loo Loo” in episode: “Fluff Daddy” (episode # 4.9) 14 September 2001

“Lexx” (1997) playing “Lyekka” in episode: “Battle” (episode # 3.10) 9 April 2000

“Lexx” (1997) playing “Lyekka” in episode: “Garden” (episode # 3.9) 2 April 2000

“Lexx” (1997) playing “Lyekka” in episode: “The End of the Universe” (episode # 2.20) 23 April 1999

“Lexx” (1997) playing “Lyekka” in episode: “Twilight” (episode # 2.13) 5 March 1999

“Lexx” (1997) playing “Lyekka” in episode: “791” (episode # 2.9) 5 February 1999

“Lexx” (1997) playing “Lyekka” in episode: “White Trash” (episode # 2.8) 29 January 1999

“Lexx” (1997) playing “Lyekka” in episode: “Lyekka” (episode # 2.3) 25 December 1998

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This interview is © 2001-2003 thefrey.
Not for reproduction without the authors express permission

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