Oliver Masucci: winner of the German Film Award, "Enfant terrible" as Fassbinder, iconic star from the hit series "Dark". Who is this man who has a penchant for extreme and extremely different roles? And what does that actually have to do with comfort?

We meet actor Oliver Masucci at Kampnagel in Hamburg, the theatre where he played Macbeth in 2019. A special place for him, whose appearances on stage are a rare occasion, now that he’s been focusing more on movies and series in recent years. It's Sunday afternoon and he's wearing a suit – so that’s his idea of comfort on a leisurely day? But more on that later. 

Born in Stuttgart in 1968, he grew up in the old West German capital of Bonn – sounds like an average résumé of its time. At the age of 12 he saw Brecht’s Threepenny Opera in the theatre - and was touched to the core. He had found his destiny. Wouldn't it have been much easier if he had taken over his parents' restaurants? Out of the question – Oliver Masucci is not known for choosing the path of least resistance.

In 1990, he travels to Berlin. He was one of only nine people to be offered a spot for acting at the University of the Arts – and, henceforth, had to get by without the financial support of his father.

“I showered at drama school.” While others were able to afford the occasional little treat, Masucci was left with a small amount of student support from the state: He focused entirely on his education. “I wanted to earn my money with my profession, and with nothing else.” For him, it is the only way to become successful. “Of the nine people who went to drama school with me, only one or two are still working.

I didn’t view it as a course for self-discovery. I had to be successful with it; I had to make a living with it.” For a few years, he takes on a number of roles, at smaller theaters across the country. Masucci is someone who toughs it out. 

Since 2015, he has been known to a wider (screen) audience, when he played Hitler in the German satirical movie “Er ist wieder da” (Look Who’s Back). Today, after hits like the series “Dark”, Oskar Roehler’s “Enfant terrible” (2020), for which he was awarded the German Film Award, and the latest adaptation of Stefan Zweig’s “Schachnovelle” (2021) (The Royal Game), it is impossible to picture German screens (and red carpets), without him. Or international ones, for that matter, since he’s now made the leap across the pond(s) to Hollywood and the UK. Fassbinder, Hitler, Josef Bartok – Masucci plays extreme, complex characters. He explores the limits of his own comfort zone by constantly transgressing them.

Speaking of comfort zones: when it comes to clothes, he doesn't like to leave it at all – other areas in his life are actually challenging enough. This is why he likes the SHAPING NEW TOMORROW Essential Pants in particular: “When I was wearing them for the first time, I just did everything in them. I went to the gym, I rode my bike, I watched a movie. They just completely adapted to the shape of my body. For my roles, I often have to gain weight and then lose it again in a very short time, so that’s great. The pants simply felt like pajamas; at some point I even forgot I was wearing them at all. And that’s when I knew: I really like these!”

And the suit? Oliver Masucci wears our Perfect Suit 2.0, which is made of our innovative Essential material with 360° stretch. "I wear the SHAPING NEW TOMORROW suit on red carpets all the time, and it just feels so light. I can do everything with it." Sounds convincing - after all, Oliver Masucci doesn't like compromise.