Quotes

We Germans should know that we're good at constructing cars and we have a lot of good qualities. But we're not the funniest.

[on owning the 'Bar Raval' in Berlin-Kreuzberg] My cooking skills are not the best. That's why I decided to open a restaurant. I have some great chefs and professional cooks who do very, very good Spanish food, Spanish tapas in Berlin. Still far away from a Michelin star.[2015]

A dream my girlfriend and I have is to move to New York for a year or two because we just love the city. I would take some acting classes.

Eating is my main hobby now, and most of what I do on the weekend revolves around that.

I always try to start my weekend by running on the beach, which is great fun here in Barcelona.

I enjoy passing time in my house. I'll get up, head out on the terrace, think about what to do, fool around oiling the floorboards or hanging pictures askew.

Well, my first languages are German and Spanish because I was brought up by a Spanish mother and a German father, so I always spoke both languages at home. I'm very thankful that I was brought up in a bilingual house.

I have one car that works; it's fast and safe: an Audi 5. And I have two old cars that never work: an old Peugeot convertible, and an Alfa Romeo Giulia.

When I was a kid, we all knew who Niki Lauda was. He was a hero, a living legend in Germany. Everybody knows him. And he's still very present on TV because he's commenting for Formula One.

I was lucky to start working when German cinema was having an interesting moment. Now the quality is going downhill again because they're insisting on doing comedies.

I live between Barcelona and Berlin. Staying in Spain over the winter and Berlin for spring and summer is an ideal combination.

When I was around 15, I did my first movie. I was at a kids' agency, and the third time I was invited to an audition, they offered me a little part in some kiddie thing, and I earned my first money. I was very proud that I could buy my first mountain bike with my own money.

I have spent every holiday in my parents' Spanish country house which is located in an alleged vampire village. There were also dares, like who manages to go to the cemetery alone at midnight. In that house I then also watched "The Exorcist" alone. It made me yell and cry. Even today (2012) it happens that I get scared s***less when I am alone in that house and hear noises.

I'm a terrible hypochondriac. I am embarrassed to admit it, particularly to my girlfriend, but I suddenly get these panic attacks and I am sure that I have come down with some dreaded disease. I have been to the doctor for the most stupid reasons. But as my girlfriend is a psychologist, she understands that it is pathological. She psychoanalyzes me, and my profession has helped me confront my fears. But when I read the script of Rush, I s*** myself.

Yes, [I was a child who suffered from nightmares] extremely, and I also continue to do so today (2012). They are universal children's fears, like in the film [Intruders], which will never ever go away. They can get stuck in your head so much that you think, even once you are in your thirties, what is actually the matter with you.

As a young boy I was rather embarrassed to talk about that [my fears]. But I was rather hypochondriacal, and that was what annoyed my parents more. On the contrary [it's not like I am not a hypochondriac anymore], that hasn't changed, and yet I smoke. When I read something online about an illness, I have got that illness immediately. It was really extreme with the Spanish cucumber that was thought to have caused E.coli last summer [2011]. I was panicky for weeks and with every trip to the toilet I thought, now E.coli has arrived.

Benedict [Benedict Cumberbatch] is the most British guy I've met, you know, and the very first time I met him in London was hysterical. Before he'd even said hello, he was telling me what I'd had for breakfast, that I'm left-handed, that I was trying to quit smoking and how to better clean my shirts. And I said, "Hi, Sherlock, it's a pleasure to meet you."