Susi Nicoletti # 2024

Romy Schneider, Senta Berger, Erika Pluhar, Christoph Waltz, Curd Jürgens, Tobias Moretti, Klaus-Maria Brandauer, Oskar Werner, Paulus Manker, Nina Proll, and Erwin Steinhauer—they and many others have one thing in common: they learned acting from Susi Nicoletti or performed with her in a film or theater production.

The Burgtheater actress, who died in 2005, influenced generations as an acting teacher at the Reinhardt Seminar. She taught more than 800 students – in addition to the film and theater stars already mentioned, these include Broadway star Ute Lemper, August Zirner, Heidelinde Weis, and Klaus Bachler, the current director of the Salzburg Easter Festival.

Apart from hundreds of roles she played on all major German-speaking stages after her debut as a cabaret artist in Munich, she also appeared in around 250 different roles in film and television. Susi Nicoletti has received numerous awards for her work, including the “Nestroy Ring,” the ‘Romy’ for her life's work, and an “Undine Award” for promoting young talent.

She was married to Ernst Haeussermann, alongside whom she also witnessed formative years of Austrian culture, which can be recounted very well using her example. Susi Nicoletti's son Mischa Haeussermann was also an actor in the USA, where he became a US citizen while working as a rescue pilot for the US Army in Vietnam. Later, in addition to his acting career, he was also a stunt pilot for Arnold Schwarzenegger in “True Lies” and for Bruce Willis in several episodes of “Die Hard.”

Susi Nicoletti is a striking example of the rich Austrian cultural life of the second half of the 20th century – and her life story also reflects the history of Austrian film. She made television history, among other things through theater broadcasts and numerous entertainment series. She starred in successful entertainment films alongside Romy Schneider, Peter Alexander, and Gunther Philipp just as naturally as she did in demanding theater and film productions. Among other things, she shone in the successful theater spectacle “Alma - A Show biz ans Ende” by Paulus Manker, which premiered in 1996 and takes the audience on an episodic journey through the life of Alma Mahler.

From a young age, Susi Nicoletti was also familiar with the great poets and thinkers of her time, such as Thomas Mann. She was an important teacher, actress, networker, discoverer of new talent, and promoter of young talent. Her devotion to her fellow actors was legendary—just as she herself was and remains a legend to this day.

This documentary features interviews with fellow actors such as Erika Pluhar, Erwin Steinhauer, Julia Stemberger, historian Georg Markus, and writer Peter Stephan Jungk.