Felix Randau Reveals Why Claes Bang Was Perfect For The Role Of Himmler’s Shady Masseur In ‘I Is Another’: “If Claes Tells You A Lie, You Want To Believe Him”
German director Felix Randau’s post-war drama *I Is Another* premieres at the Locarno Film Festival, with Claes Bang playing Felix Kersten, Heinrich Himmler’s real-life massage therapist. The film examines the disputed legacy of a man celebrated for claims that he used access to the SS leader to save lives, but whose account was later questioned; Randau says Bang was ideal because he can make an audience believe a lie.
The story uses an imagined train encounter between Kersten and journalist Hedda, played by Valerie Pachner, as she challenges his version of events, alongside wartime flashbacks involving Himmler. Kersten claimed to have prevented the deportation of Dutch citizens and helped save about 60,000 Jewish prisoners, earning major Dutch honours and eight Nobel Peace Prize nominations in the 1950s. Randau said casting Himmler proved difficult, as several German actors objected to portraying the Nazi leader as human rather than grotesque.
- *I Is Another* questions masseur Felix Kersten’s claims of wartime heroism.
- Claes Bang plays Kersten in Randau’s Locarno-premiering drama.
- The director says casting Heinrich Himmler was particularly difficult.