Adam Venhaus

When my parents fled to Germany, I arrived two years later at the age of 10 with my grandparents. The Wall was still standing, and we secretly crossed the DDR in a fully packed Trabi to an asylum seeker’s home in Munich, where we were allowed to share beds with other strangers. That journey marked the end of my childhood. My parents got divorced, and my mother’s new boyfriend was a severe alcoholic; the police and youth welfare office were often guests at our house. At fourteen, a change came as I asked the youth welfare office for a new home. After several stays in children’s homes, I finally ended up at the Prien Waldorf School, where I was introduced to acting. Influenced by prominent actors who had their children in our class and with whom I had befriended, I was eventually encouraged to pursue acting training. It took a long time before I could say that I am an actor because I had to first convince myself that I am one. Today, I believe, I am an actor with body and soul…