‘I Laughed For 30 Seconds’: Daniel Bruhl Reveals How He Prepared To Play Late Fashion Icon In Becoming Karl Lagerfeld

Daniel Bruhl recently opened up about playing the late fashion icon Karl Lagerfeld in Disney+’s new series Becoming Karl Lagerfeld. The actor revealed how his early career encounter with the designer, who died in 2019, helped him prepare for the role.

In addition, Bruhl shared that he laughed for ’30 seconds’ when he got offered the opportunity to take on the role, noting he initially found the idea ‘absurd’ but then realized it could be interesting to depict such an influential role.

Daniel Bruhl on his initial reaction to playing Karl Lagerfeld

Spanish-German actor Daniel Bruhl recently attended the screening of the first two episodes of the new Disney+ series Becoming Karl Lagerfeld at the Selfridges cinema in London. In the series, Bruhl plays the late fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, during a Q&A following the screening, the actor revealed he laughed when initially offered the role, noting he found the idea “absurd.”

However, he then realized the prospect of playing the role could be intriguing. Bruhl recalled, “I laughed for 30 seconds, and then I said, ‘This is absurd.’ And then I thought, ‘Hold on, that could actually be kind of interesting.'”

The exclusive six-episode series will follow “the rise of Karl Lagerfeld through the world of 1970s Parisian high fashion.”

Daniel Bruhl revealed his one encounter with Karl Lagerfeld helped him prepare for the role

During the Q&A, Daniel Bruhl also shared how his one encounter with late fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld, who died in 2019, helped him prepare to depict the role. As per the outlet, he recalled telling how he met Lagerfeld, saying, “I met Karl Lagerfeld only once, and he was taking some pictures of me, and I was so nervous.”

The actor expressed that after a few minutes of their meeting, “he made me forget that I was with Karl Lagerfeld. But he was the distant figure who was that persona which reminded me a little bit of Andy Warhol, too. So I saw the whole uniform, the shield that he had created.”

Daniel Bruhl further shared that his one-time encounter with Karl Lagerfeld made him feel a strong urge to play Lagerfeld, even though he knew it might be a challenging and risky role. “I think it had an influence on me that I had met him once,” Bruhl added. “I just felt that urge to want to play Karl Lagerfeld.”

The latest Disney+ series, Becoming Karl Lagerfeld, is created by Isaure Pisani-Ferry, Raphaëlle Bacqué, and Jennifer Have. It stars Daniel Bruhl as the late fashion icon, and other cast members include Théodore Pellerin as Jacques de Bascher, Alex Lutz as Pierre Bergé, Arnaud Valois as Yves Saint Laurent, and Agnès Jaoui as Gaby Aghion.