Q/A With Holly Pflegher

The German born actress gets candid about life and experience in the industry.

Q: Describe a little bit of who you are?

H: I am an actress from Germany. I lived there most of my life but also went to school in Switzerland for a few years when I was 7 and lived in San Jose, CA as an exchange student. I also lived in Vienna, Austria and Barcelona, Spain for a few years.

Q: What got you into acting?

H: I got discovered by two talent agents while I was ice skating with my parents when I was 4 ½ years old. I started child modeling for print commercials and magazines and then got smaller parts in movies when I was around 10. I also played theater at a young age and I loved it so much so I kept doing it on a professional level.

Q:  Talk about your experience acting in Germany?

H: Well it wasn’t easy and often frustrating and painful. It is very hard if you are not an established actor at a young age. Roles are limited and people mainly work with the same crowd of actors since it is no risk and they already proved themselves. In Germany they do not have open casting calls and casting directors invite only a small number of actors to the auditions. If you are not in one of the really good agencies it is almost impossible to get invited to an audition. I worked as an assistant for casting directors for many years and it is literally always the same 10 actors in every age and type group who gets invited. In Germany you can only get into a good agency when you have a really good showreel and you only get that when you work so it is a vicious cycle. I wish they had open casting calls like in America it would give everyone a fairer chance.

Holly on set back in Germany.

Q:  You were on a tv show in Germany right? What was that like for you? 

H: It was great. It was amazing to work on a frequent basis and develop a character for a longer time. It was a daily show so the way we worked was pretty fast. There wasn’t much time to do work on scenes for longer time because we had to shoot so many scenes a day. It helped me to learn pages of lines fast and get into scenes very fast. You had to come to set super prepared so everyone could start working right away. That means to study the lines for the next day after you get home from a day filming. It was a lot of work and you didn’t have time to do anything else. Sometimes I didn’t act the way I wanted but there wasn’t time to work on it so you have to live with it and learn from it. It was a great education because I had to do so much work on my own. It made me learn to be perfectly prepared when coming to set, know my lines, know the backstory and know where my character is coming from. I really had the best time doing this tv show and I would love to do something like this again. I loved the team and I’m still in touch with one of the directors and some of the actors.

Q:  Can you talk about one of your worst moments working on set?

H: The probably worst moment ever was when i shot for an Italian movie that was set in Berlin. It was January and freezing cold. I had to wear a white summer dress and run up a hill in one scene and sit on a swing in another scene. I was shaking so much, my body hurt like crazy and holding the chains of the swing felt like touching needles. My eyes were constantly tearing and i was crying between every take, even though I had a person massage my hands and heating them up. It was just terrible and I wanted to quit (laughs). The movie won lots of awards so it was worth it at the end and luckily you can’t tell how painful it was, it looks like I had lots of fun (laughs).

Q: You happened to be in the press a lot in Germany….Why?

H: It started with a campaign I did for PETA and it was featured around the world. Then I got major stories in the newspapers the following days and gave interview on TV similar to the today show and lots of other TV magazines. Then the press knew me and when I went on red carpets I got photographed and often printed. I have a famous last name that also made people interested in me.

Holly protesting PETA back in 2012

 H: I also had a manager back then who forced the whole press thing and went with me on many events and red carpets every week. I’m also very outgoing and always talk to the photographers and reporters and informed them about new movies I did so I got a story in the newspaper. It’s important to sell yourself but you have to do it in a healthy way because otherwise you are getting recognized as a party girl and not an actress and that can end your career completely. I faced this problem too and it is very hard to leave that impression behind you once it happens. Unfortunately the media always remembers the bad things because it sells better. The media wants to create emotions because that is what sells the newspapers. Personal drama stories just sell better than a new movie you are trying to promote.

Q:  So you lived quite a life in Germany, why come to America then?

H : I always wanted to live in America. My mom’s family all lives here (Germany) so I grew up with the culture my whole life. Then I went for one summer to New York and loved it so much that I decided to move here two years later.

Q: How has your family reacted to you pursuing acting in New York? 

H: My parents always supported all of my decisions and would never intervene in anything I’m doing. I’ve been very independent from a very young age on and always knew my way around. My parents left their families when they were 14 and 16 and also moved far away so it’s not a big deal for them. They love New York and are very proud I’m surviving here for many years now and having a pretty nice and exciting life.

Q: What would you say are the major differences between America and Germany?

H: That the doors in stores and restaurants open to the outside.

Q:  That’s it? I mean what about the stereotypes that people give Germans. Are you guys really known to be aggressive? 

H: Well there isn’t THE German. People from Berlin tend to be more aggressive than a person from the northern part for example. Most Germans are very correct and like to have things in order. It is not very liked to do things in a different way than it is supposed to be in their opinion. Germans tend to see the bad things that can come out of something compared to the American who always sees the best possible outcome. That’s why Americans are way more enthusiastic about new things. They give new things a chance, even when nobody ever did it before and they could fail they try it anyway.  I wish Germans would be more aggressive in almost every way. Unfortunately Germans are so comfortable with everything that literally nothing ever changes. The common German has zero fire or temperament when it comes to fighting for something. Germany isn’t known to take any risks, safety first and to keep the things the way they are. People are not innovative, they stick to things the way it has been forever.

Q: Also genuinely curious do they teach you about the Holocaust in your classroom? In America it’s a pretty pretty big topic here.  

H: Yes it’s very big in Germany too. They teach it for six years straight and always focus on a different time aspect. I don’t think the way they teach it is very good though. It’s very theoretical and mostly we discussed letters of people back then. Most of the students get super bored after a while. We only discussed what happened before WW2 and that was it. I think if you really want to know about it it’s better to read book and watch documentaries and talk to people who were there. My grandpa wrote a book about the time and he always told tons of stories about it. I learned way more from my grandparents than I learned in school.

Q: That’s great about your grandfather. Back on topic, what is your dream role?

H: I would like to play a crack addict who goes on a cross country trip with her boyfriend trying to find a better life and facing lots of challenges during this trip.

Q: Interesting. If you could go back to any time period what would it be and why?

H: The 60s. Life was free and people had big aspirations. Lots of possibilities for the youth. The war over and people passed the poor life and the fear from back then. The art and music scene was incredible. People followed their dreams and were not influenced by the media or the cash machine. There was hardly unemployment, less pressure and mental diseases. It was before internet, facebook and instagram and people communicated in person with each other. People didn’t get bothered by others who just showed off their amazing lives so there was less jealousy and less of a feeling of not having it all.

Bands just shared their talent and souls with the world and were not influenced by greedy managers or other people who are interested in profit only.  The oceans weren’t that polluted, we had way less animal farming and the air was cleaner.

Q: You mentioned the media having a huge role on people’s dreams. In what way do you see this happening ? 

H: I think social media changed the way we are seeing certain things in a drastic way. People show off their wealth and luxury items and put a lot of people under pressure because they don’t have the same. It can make people feel like they failed even though they didn’t. It became so easy to fake a life. You don’t need to live in a mansion but you can pretend you do and just put it out there. You can photoshop your face and body and fake your whole appearance. I think it gives a total wrong impression about the real life. Everyone tries to portray a perfect life which is in my opinion so boring. I think it’s the failures we face and the imperfections that make us interesting. There is nothing worse than these catalogue designed apartments with no personal touch. They literally all look the same, the people all dress the same way with the same makeup and the same hair extensions. There is zero uniqueness, people copy each other and become zombies in their own fake world without even realizing it. Lots of people are trying to reach exactly that instead of embracing their own style and taste. Social media opened a platform to everyone to insult, criticize and destroy people in an anonymous way. People go out and scream out their opinions without facing consequences. I think it made the world cruel and mean. Instead of accepting others the way they are they destroy them or admire them for the wrong reasons. People get admired for faking a life. Social media shows a filtered world and not reality.  It also did hell of a job destroying the art and different cultures and it all became so flat without edges and any personal soul. I’m a person I’m interested in things I haven’t seen, people who have edges and a unique way of seeing the world. Who can show me a new point of view, show me a new way to dress or live. That inspires me.

What Holly didn’t share was her experience as a race car driver back in Germany.

Q: Wow. You speak the truth. To lighten it up, where do see yourself in three years?

H: I hope I still live in New York or maybe Los Angeles and hopefully I will be happy in a professional and personal way. 

Q: What is happy in a personal way mean to you? 

H: I think it means to be content and happy with myself first of all. Without the feeling of missing something or someone. To feel happy with what I achieved, have and who I am. To have the people I love around and knowing they are healthy and happy too.

Q: Favorite movie? Favorite book?

Movie: Almost Famous

Book: “Lolita” (Vladimir Nabokov) and “Zoo Station: The Story of Christiane F.” (Christiane F.)

Q: If you can have three people at dinner who would it be and why?

H: Bill Clinton: I have always been a big admirer and he is so charming and interesting and I love talking about world politics so we would have a great time.

Tom Cruise : I am a huge fan and I met him once at a movie premiere and he was so super nice and sweet and I am sure we would have so much fun.

Richie Rich: He’s one of my closest and best friends and my favorite date for any occasion or event. He isn’t a threat to other guys, nobody would be jealous and he is so entertaining and so sweet and everyone loves him so we all would have the best time ever. 

Q: Bill Clinton has known to be quite the talker…. You wouldn’t be concerned about you know?

H: Nah not at all. I always admired him and I love flirting and wouldn’t mind him being flirty too (laughs). I only heard amazing things about him and I always wanted to meet him.

IG: holly.newyork

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