© Yvonne Schmedemann
August 25, 2025
Stephanie Pieper
Eva Mattes on desire, love, and passion and the art of seduction in front of the camera – and in real life
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At the age of 12, she synchronizes Pippi Longstocking, at 15 Eva Mattes becomes the trigger of a scandal at the Berlinale in the role of a rape victim in Michael Verhoeven's anti-Vietnam War film “o.k.”, which is then canceled for the first and so far only time in its now 74-year history.
To this day, the character actress, born in 1954, who decided to become an actress at the age of six, has appeared in over 200 feature films, television films, or theater productions. She worked with all the great directors from Werner Herzog to Michael Verhoeven to Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Peter Zadek.
In 1979 in Cannes, Klaus Kinski snatched a Golden Palm from Eva Mattes's nose for her role in Woyzeck - and the Enfant Terrible wasn't even angry with her for it. Eva Mattes loves acting - and the art of seducing her audience. You just can't look away when Eva Mattes looks, flirts, and always becomes very personal.
From the Tatort commissioner Eva Blum to the midwife mother in Lena Lorenz, nothing human is foreign to her. At home, the actress is in Berlin-Kreuzberg and increasingly in her house with a garden in Brandenburg. There she lives with her daughter Hannah (from her relationship with Werner Herzog), also an artist and photographer.
What actually makes you so seductive?
You'll have to ask others about that. I don't see myself.
But that doesn't only have to do with seeing?
It has to do with many things - above all, presence. It starts with the way one presents oneself, how one enters a room, greets people, and meets people. It's the openness one brings and the awareness: I'm being watched now. Which, by the way, is not always pleasant. But above all, it has to do with giving.
How do you seduce your audience?
By giving myself. For example, by standing on stage during my song evenings and saying: Now I'm here, and we're spending the evening together. I open up and give you my love.
Is this love reciprocated?
Oh yes, you can feel it immediately. Recently, I played at a big theater in Regensburg, and the applause wouldn't stop, even though I hadn't said a word. I often get so much love back that I feel very embraced. It can't be better.
And if the spark doesn't ignite?
Then I look directly at people in the audience or speak to them. The personal aspect almost always translates. This is, of course, also due to the texts. With the poetry of Mascha Kaléko, which I currently recite during my chanson evenings, you can almost feel the closeness and intimacy: "Adrift in a boat of night, I drifted and drifted to a shore. I leaned against clouds against the rain, against sand dunes against the raging wind. Nothing could be relied upon, only miracles." That is very personal.
Then is your art of seduction the approachability?
Well said! Maybe. But I really perceive people. Even in everyday life, in private. When I go for a walk or go shopping, I sometimes smile at the person opposite me until something happens in their faces. They brighten up. I always make contact. Yes, I also love to flirt immensely. Life is beautiful. I flirt with everyone and everything. But when it comes to falling in love, he must of course send me signals that he also finds me interesting. Wants to know who I am.
Does seduction have an expiration date?
In my opinion, no. Of course, it depends on the expectations one has. Seduction doesn't always have to lead somewhere. Seduction should have something light, something floating, like a scent that drifts by. Like a sensual game that you can play even at 90 years old or with 150 kilos.
I was once able to watch Luciano Pavarotti seducing someone unnoticed. This was in an elevator in a Vienna hotel. Hardly two people fit in. I could hear Pavarotti's voice from afar. He was speaking Italian to a tall, beautiful, dark-haired woman. They both got into the elevator without noticing me. I simply turned into wallpaper.
There was not a sheet of paper between his belly and this woman, but there was also nothing between them and me. Nevertheless, I was able to watch him undisturbed during his love serenade. It was an incredible pleasure.
Youth and beauty don't play such a big role?
It essentially depends on how you feel. When I feel good, I have a great charisma. As soon as I step on stage, a transformation begins that also takes place in the body. Appearance suddenly no longer matters. I don't see my body and neither does the audience. But I also sometimes play roles in which I am ugly and shrill. Like Liesl Mooshammer in the Eberhofer crime series.
Does that bother you?
No, it's fun. It's not even half as tiring as having to always be beautiful. Especially at my age. The lighting has to be right, the cameraman has to cooperate, and the makeup has to be perfect. I am vain. I can't walk past a mirror.
You always wear red lipstick too.
I got that from my mother. She never left the house without lipstick. A beautiful woman, a gifted dancer, and singer. I also love to dance, and, as they say, quite well.
And you have a very erotic voice. Like velvet and silk. You've probably heard that a lot.
And I feel honored every time. That was noticeable even as a young woman. Back then, I worked a lot with Peter Zadek. At some point, we were rehearsing a play that was very much about eroticism and the relationship between two women. I remember him shouting at me: Stop playing erotic! You are erotic!
Do you actually like your body?
Yes, I think it's noticeable. I understood in puberty that being fat or thin doesn't matter at all. I was considered chubby at 17 when I went to the Hamburg Schauspielhaus. Back then, Twiggy was the big role model. Later, I was very, very slim, but the boys never cared. I also no longer diet today. Of course, sometimes I think when I see myself on television – and television always makes you a little fatter: Whose butt is that? But I don't care anymore. I just love eating too much.
I already understood during puberty that being fat or thin doesn't matter at all.
Eva Mattes
Ulrich Tukur once said in an interview about you that you could really – excuse me, quote – eat.
That was a bit impudent, wasn't it? I thought I didn't hear it right! Of all people, Uli Tukur makes fun of it. Probably because he has to be a bit careful now himself. He used to love going out to eat with me because all the other women he filmed with ate almost nothing.
During a Tatort shoot, he invited me to a restaurant where they served Eisbein. I eat Eisbein once every 15 years – but then with skin and all. Also everything that people otherwise disdain: I eat the fat with a lot of mustard, nibble on the cartilage, and suck the marrow out of the bones.
Legendary is the scene in the "Eberhofer" crime story, in which you completely eat the chicken bones. With great pleasure!
I really do that, there's not much left with me. But when I cook at home, which I also do every day for myself alone, I mostly eat vegetarian.
Can one seduce you with food?
Ah, such a bloody steak...
Sometimes you really remind one of Pippi Longstocking, who does what she likes – your first role as a voice actress. You were 12 years old and also sang the famous theme song.
I only lent my voice to Pippi in the TV series. In the films, I voiced Tommy.
Can you understand that today many adult women name Pippi Longstocking as a role model?
Not really. Of course, it's funny when someone ties brushes to their feet and dances while cleaning the floor. But I was mainly fascinated by one scene. Pippi talks to her dead mother in heaven before going to bed: Don't worry, I'll take care of myself, I'm doing well.
I find this aspect very special. She takes care of herself, listens to herself and her intuition. That has always impressed me. And the feet on the pillow. I tried that myself when I couldn't fall asleep. It always works. It's probably the freedom that fascinates so many. Pippi Longstocking doesn't follow rules and roles.
You also broke roles early on and played boys or men.
I mainly got the role of Timmy in Lassie because the boys eventually hit puberty. Also, I've always found it easy to imitate voices.
And how was it when you imitated the equally great and complicated Rainer Werner Fassbinder in the homage "Ein Mann wie E.V.A."?
In that sense, I didn't play a man, I just played Fassbinder. His voice, his gait, this particular softness, permeated with sadness. Everything was in his voice and in his posture. Also the seamless transition from quiet to suddenly screaming. I took another close look at that. The physicality was crucial to getting into the role.
Herzog, Fassbinder, Zadek, von Praunheim, Kroetz ... - They have worked and directed with the great directors. What does a director have to do to lure you into a role?
This may sound a bit absurd now, but the greatest seduction for me was and always is restraint. That someone looks closely: What is she doing? How does she feel about it? And only intervenes in an emergency if my play does not develop further by itself. But basically just listen, see, trust. Freedom! I already know how I do my work.
You started working very early. Have you ever regretted it?
Never! I am often asked whether I would not have missed my childhood. On the contrary, I'm still playing today. And I still enjoy it, I'm far from full!
