Kerstin Schulze (Killer Clown "High Tower") Interview "Comedic Actress & Director" Show #257

Here is a fun interview with Actress Kerstin Schulze, originally from Germany, now a glowing star in Hollywood. She has done commercials with Tina Fey & Kathy Bates, acted with Will Arnett & Amy Schumer, Director & Writer on a couple comedy short films, AND played "Hightower" an ACD Killer Clown!  ...she has done it all! A really fun interview I know youy will enjoy...Please share & subscribe!

Kerstin Schulze began her comedy career in Germany at the tender age of 15, performing stand-up improv with her identical twin sister, which soon led to appearances on television. Her journey from German theater to Hollywood is a testament to her versatile talents in comedy, acting, and stunt performance, all enriched by her unique physical attributes and cultural background. Schulze attributes her success to her relentless desire to learn, emphasizing the importance of good writing and expressing gratitude for opportunities to collaborate with seasoned professionals like Amy Schumer. Her ventures into writing and directing her own sketches, alongside memorable roles like Hightower in 'Escape the Night,' showcase her commitment to evolving in the entertainment industry and her positive energy in embracing new challenges.

Work out with Kerstin Schulze: Party and Diet .com

(00:01:04) German Comedian's Hollywood Success Story

(00:09:11) "Transformative Portrayal of Hightower: Character Evolution"

(00:16:01) Amy Schumer's Impact on Comedy Industry Growth

(00:18:14) Exploring Comedy Concepts: Sketch Writing Journey

(00:20:47) Mastering a British Accent in American Horror Story

Transcript

Announcer: 0:04

This is another episode of Stand Up Comedy. Your host and emcee celebrating 40 plus years on the fringe of show business stories, interviews and comedy sets from the famous and not so famous. Here's your host and emcee, Scott Edwards.

R. Scott Edwards: 0:22

Hey, welcome back to the podcast, ladies and gentlemen. I have a fun and exciting interview for you this week. A talented young lady out of Germany. That's right. She's now working out of Los Angeles, but she's got that German thing going. We're going to talk about that. She's a model, she's an actress, she's done some writing, she's a director, ladies and gentlemen. She's done it all. Let's welcome her to the show. Kirsten Schultz. Kirsten, so nice to have you on the podcast. You've been doing some comedy on tv, in the movies. What an exciting career. And all coming out of Germany. When did you come over?

Kerstin Schulze: 1:04

I came over 24 years ago.

R. Scott Edwards: 1:07

And you've had this amazing career in just 24 years. Were you doing entertainment in Germany?

Kerstin Schulze: 1:14

I did theater, yes. I did a lot of stand up improv in Germany since I was 15 years old.

R. Scott Edwards: 1:21

Wow, that young. Really?

Kerstin Schulze: 1:24

Yeah, we did it in school. And then my sister and I have an identical twin. We used to write our own sketches and then we performed it in Rosenheim outside of Munich. And then we got to tour a little bit. We were on tv. We were a little famous, not very famous, but a little bit. We loved it. We played well together on stage.

R. Scott Edwards: 1:44

Oh, wow, what a great story. And if you have an identical twin, she's got to be one tough woman. Because ladies and gentlemen, if you go to the Googler and look up Kirsten Schultz, you will see she is one fit person. She, you could see why you did some modeling, but it's also come in handy as an actress. You're very strong. And that with the German accent has had to have had some impact on your Hollywood career.

Kerstin Schulze: 2:15

It worked in my favor for sure. It opened doors because there's nobody like me. My height worked in my favor and then I was always in shape and if I had to bring the German accent, I was the woman for it. And that's probably how I got on the Righteous Gemstone.

R. Scott Edwards: 2:30

Yeah. I've had a chance to do some research and see some of the work you've done. You're a talented actress. But I think what does stand out and I think it's great because I think it helped you in that comedic roles you did that being you're tall and you're very fit, very muscular and beautiful, too. So it all kind of works together. But I think that combined with your history in Germany and in the States as an actress really came together for you. For example, comedically speaking, you got a chance to be the body double in a really funny commercial with Tina Fey. You've worked with Dave Schwimmer, Kathy Bates, Amy Schumer. You've done some great TV and movies. But the fact that you can act, be funny, and you have this unique tall, you know, fit look, really, you're the whole package.

Kerstin Schulze: 3:27

Well, thank you. I'm flattered, but I guess so, if you put it that way.

R. Scott Edwards: 3:33

Yeah, Well, I put it that way because, you know, this is a comedy podcast and you've done a lot of great work in comedy. And what I was trying to bring to the audience is, is that it's one thing to be a good actress, it's one thing to be beautiful. But if you're extremely fit, have a German background, you're tall, it really lends itself to humor, right?

Kerstin Schulze: 3:59

Absolutely, absolutely. Especially if you know how to roll with the punches and play with it. For sure. It has definitely helped my career.

R. Scott Edwards: 4:09

Yeah. And in fact, if you have a twin sister, when you guys were young, it might have been a little intimidating. Right. Don't mess with it.

Kerstin Schulze: 4:18

Still is. And, you know, she's the totally opposite. She is the CIO for Toshiba, so she's not in the front of the camera at all anymore. When we go somewhere, it's definitely intimidating, for sure. And I love when she comes to visit me on set because it throws everybody off.

R. Scott Edwards: 4:34

Oh, I bet it does. I had the pleasure of raising a couple young ladies. Not mine. They were, I would say, like God, children that were identical twins. And we had so much fun with that. And the fact that you had a chance to do some acting together when you were young, you said that included some skit performances and kind of improv. So you've been kind of touching base with comedy your whole life.

Kerstin Schulze: 5:01

Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, I always loved comedy. I love seeing comedians. I love learning from them. I love watching them. I love watching people. I'm a people watcher, and people give you funny things when you watch them, you know? And so her and I, we would just sit there and wait. We used to kayak together and go down raging rivers in Austria. And in the wintertime, we would go to a pool where we can practice our Eskimo rolls after school, and we would just sit there and watch people, how they behave. And that gave Us a lot of fuel to write and create some funny sketches.

R. Scott Edwards: 5:40

I'm sure that helped you later on when you started to direct and write. I want to ask you about that in a bit. But when it comes to comedic acting, being able to observe others and find the funny is what I always like to call it, where you can see something and if you have a good sense of humor and you have a comedic brain, you can find the funny in those things. Now I know that helped your career because in 2016 you made your movie debut, I believe, in Rescue Dogs. And then in 2017 you worked with Will Arnett on the movie Flaked. And in both of those roles, but especially in Flaked, you had, you brought it all together. It was funny. You had the look as we talked about tall and strong and then you added the German accent. It really help push that character in that movie.

Kerstin Schulze: 6:36

Yeah, yeah, that was fun. Will Annette was so fun to work with. As well as David Sullivan. I had two love interests. Right. We were in a group German fun sexcapade you want to call it. So yeah, definitely was the beginning of building the character and working with it. Yeah, it definitely has buil over the years and now is going to be seen opposite of Walton Goggins.

R. Scott Edwards: 7:11

Wow. It's amazing. Well, I know that as the health inspector on Rescue Dogs, it really came across that you played it straight, which was great because it was very funny, but you played it straight. This kind of German, strong minded woman that's a health inspector putting pressure on the characters in the movie. But it really brought out the comedy in that movie. And I think what's great, Kirsten, is you've had a chance to take your experiences in life and in comedy and when you bring it to your acting and then you add it to your stature, it really comes off well.

Kerstin Schulze: 7:52

Yeah, it does, doesn't it? Yeah, it flows together for sure.

R. Scott Edwards: 7:57

Did you find it interesting working in movies versus the stage?

Kerstin Schulze: 8:02

Ooh, that's a great question. I love the stage because you get the immediate response when you do it in movies. You never know. You hear the set laughing and stuff like that and the director said it was great. But definitely the stage is very different than tv. I don't know which one I prefer. I like them both. But you just don't have to wait for immediate gratification because you get it when you're on stage, you know, when something works and when it's not working.

R. Scott Edwards: 8:30

Yeah, that's been said by a lot of the comedy actors or stand up comics that went to acting that I've had a chance to interview is that they're missing. That immediate reaction, that connection with an audience and getting an immediate response is so rewarding. However, financially rewarding and career wise, getting into movies can really boost your presence in the industry. Now, you also did some television. You were in the series Escape the Night in the killer clown series. Yeah, that's a little wicked. You were really good in makeup.

Kerstin Schulze: 9:11

Yeah, they put a little prosthetic on my forehead, but I love that character. That character actually was meant for a man. I remember when I got the audition and I was supposed to audition for something else, and I went into the room and I just spit on the floor, kissed my muscles. And you know, when you go on audition, you have to just have the guts to go in and just do you and don't worry about are you going to please somebody. It's all about, okay, this is what I think this should be. And then the director saw me and said, I loved you so much. There's a bigger role and I would like to rewrite it for you. And that's how Hightower was born and as the killer clown. And then they loved what I did with her and said, can we develop her more? And I thought, how funny would it be if she's really sensitive? Me too. I wanted to know, why would somebody become a killer clown? You know, either she didn't get hugged enough, loved enough, and then I thought she should have a tick and that she's a super clean clown. Super ocd. Yeah, it worked. It was one of the funniest and most fun developing characters I've had.

R. Scott Edwards: 10:19

Yeah, it was. I got a chance to see it and you were so great in that role and for everybody in the audience. She was supposed to do this spot one time spot with the Escape from the Night series. And she developed Hightower. That was so strong. I think they had you on three or four episodes, right?

Kerstin Schulze: 10:39

Correct. Yeah. Yeah.

R. Scott Edwards: 10:41

That's amazing. And you mentioned how you enjoyed that character. I just interviewed a good friend of mine, Michael west is his name. He's a stand up comic. And he got the role in Clown House, which is another horror movie. This one's a more serious horror movie and he plays a killer clown. But he was saying how freeing the makeup was. In other words, getting on that clown makeup and playing that character allowed him to not only still slip in some comedy, but also, you know, be terrifying and mix it. And that for him, as an entertainer, as an actor, was really challenging and fun. Did you find the same.

Kerstin Schulze: 11:24

Absolutely. I mean, I loved it. When you go through the transformation, you definitely get a. The mask provides a different view right when you look in the mirror, like, wow, I'm really this killer clown. And I took it so far that I actually, when we were done, because we had a lot of night shoots, when we were done filming at 6am in the morning, I said, you know what? I'm going to keep this on. I'm going to go home, I'm going to wake up, I'm going to take like two hours sleep. I had to take my daughter to school. I'm going to go and take her as this killer clown. She was not happy. She's like, mom, mom, you're scaring me. So I took her and drove in the car to school and I picked her up from. With carpool. I went to the grocery store in it. I went to get my car fixed in it and get some oil change. And the reaction of people was priceless. I wish I would have filmed that.

R. Scott Edwards: 12:22

Oh, that is so funny. Kirsten, that is genius. And I bet. And I've seen you in the full makeup, I bet as Hightower, that that was. Got a lot of amazing reactions. Kind of surprising. You didn't get arrested.

Kerstin Schulze: 12:37

I know, right? Like, the boys and the men, they were all happy. They were like, oh, this is so cool. The women were screaming and hiding. I remember when I get my oil change done and I went into the office and the woman literally screamed and was hiding behind her desk until I told her, hey, me. It was hilarious. I loved it.

R. Scott Edwards: 12:58

Oh, well, what a great way to take your career position as an actress and bring it into the real world to see the reactions. And you already mentioned that as a young person, you learned the value of watching the reactions of other human beings as they engage with life. And then when you go in as Hightower and get a chance to see them react, that had to have helped your position and your being as a humorist, bringing a little comedy to this, you know, scary character.

Kerstin Schulze: 13:34

Absolutely. Yeah, it definitely helped because, you know, she knew that everybody's scared of her, but all she just wanted to be loved and accepted and just like all of us. Like all of us. Yeah. Don't judge the COVID by its book.

R. Scott Edwards: 13:49

Oh, that is just so funny. Well, your success in TV and movies also led you to around on the game show To Tell the Truth, which is. Yeah. With Anthony Anderson.

Kerstin Schulze: 14:04

And his mom was on his show too. Yeah.

R. Scott Edwards: 14:06

Oh, yeah, she's cute on that show. Well, to be on To Tell the Truth had to also kind of validate this unique character as an actress you brought, you know, you are unique in that you were so fit, so strong, so tall, and yet so beautiful to have that kind of ying and yang. You go from being Hightower to being on to tell the truth as yourself. But, you know, in front of the audience, getting to share it all. Was that a fun experience?

Kerstin Schulze: 14:37

Well, there I actually had to play an arm wrestler and I had to pretend I'm an arm wrestler, which I had no clue. I mean, the night before I looked up what does arm wrestlers do? And I picked some, you know, what is the humor? Humorous bone. And you know, I picked some technical words that only an arm wrestler would know and threw them at them. So that's what threw them off their game. But really was a little 12 year old girl that was the arm wrestler and champion.

R. Scott Edwards: 15:05

Well, and I'm sure it surprised the audience because you have such strong arms. I mean, my wife would be so jealous. She's always impressed with women that have really strong arm muscles. You are fit from head to toe. So if that was where they were going on, to tell the truth, you were the perfect person to throw off the group. Did you get a lot of votes?

Kerstin Schulze: 15:29

I did, yeah. I threw them off. They definitely thought it was me that was the wrestler until we had to reveal that it's not me.

R. Scott Edwards: 15:37

Yeah. Well, you have had a lot of experience in your career here in the US and in Hollywood with both television actors, movie actors. We talked about comedians like Tina Fey and Amy Schumer. Was there any experience that really stood out to you or somebody that you enjoyed working with or maybe learned something from?

Kerstin Schulze: 16:01

I loved working with Amy Schumer. I just think she's such a real person. She, she just, she can just switch it up so fast. When we were filming and she had to do like, let's do five different takes and each take was completely different and just by a little bit. And. But it made it, it made such a big difference of how she pronounced it or what words. She put her weight on it and it was just, you know, her body language and her wording is just really perfect. And I thought that she was amazing and she was super friendly, super nice, super caring. And I just had. I love her. I think she was amazing.

R. Scott Edwards: 16:44

Oh, that's great. Well, thanks for sharing that. And it is so true about comedy and comedy actors, actresses and stand up comics just in general that it is the nuances of the verbiage and the physical nuances of the delivery that can really change things an incredible amount. And for you to get a chance to work with her, come her friend and maybe learn from her, I'm sure will be beneficial to your career.

Kerstin Schulze: 17:14

Oh, for sure. You know, and all the people that I have worked with so far, they all have taught me something and have helped me to get better at my craft. So it's always a blessing when we get to learn and stay humbled and say, okay, what I'm here now, what can I learn? Especially when people on top of it are so generous to be kind and share their craft with you.

R. Scott Edwards: 17:42

Yeah, it can be competitive, but also a very giving industry in the sense that especially somebody newer like you and I mean new, compared to somebody like Kathy Bates or Tina Fey, you know, you have that opportunity to interact with them and learn something. And speaking of that, not only are you a model and an actress, as we talked about, I alluded to in your introduction, you've done some writing. You just wrote Wine Night.

Kerstin Schulze: 18:14

Yeah, I just decided, you know what? I want to understand comedy. It's good to know how to write the game as it is. How do we build it? Where does it start, how do we introduce the game and then how do you exit? So I did some writing with the sketch school and Mark was really amazing. He just taught us how to build a sketch, how to write a comedy, and then I decided, okay, well, let me just create my own and write it, produce it and put it up.

R. Scott Edwards: 18:45

Well, I mean, that's a great achievement. You have to have some personal fortitude and positive energy to jump into new area like that. You had some success with it. Congratulations.

Kerstin Schulze: 18:56

Thank you. Thank you very much. Yeah, it was a fun idea. I thought, okay, what if three women would have a night out having their wine or four women and order a stripper, but the stripper doesn't come. It's actually a real robber that breaks into the house. And what happens?

R. Scott Edwards: 19:14

Well, it's a very funny concept. And you learned about the challenges of writing because one of the things that stand up comics learn early on on is that the performance is important. But if you don't have the good writing behind it, the comedy writing, it's not going to come together. Now, doing that as a writer, did that help you take that next step? Because you also recently directed Pet Peeves, right?

Kerstin Schulze: 19:42

Correct. Yeah, I did Pet Peeves first and then I did Win Night.

R. Scott Edwards: 19:45

Oh, I'm sorry, I had it backwards.

Kerstin Schulze: 19:46

No worries, no worries. Pepys was my first try at it and then Win Night I thought was even better. And Peppy's was just building the comedy part of the game, you know? And I thought, what if a woman is so well put together and going on her first date and she talks about, you know, etiquette and all that, and she has the worst table manners of all. And what happened?

R. Scott Edwards: 20:13

Well, another great comedy topic that you were able to flush out through direction. So you've directed a project, you've written a project, you've been a model for a long time, and you've acted in both TV and movies. You've had a really full career. Kirsten, I'm so excited for you. Congratulations.

Kerstin Schulze: 20:34

Thank you.

R. Scott Edwards: 20:35

I know it's a journey going through the steps, but is there anything that really felt extra rewarding? And then give me the Yang of that. What was the most challenging?

Kerstin Schulze: 20:47

Oh, the most challenging. I gotta think about that. For sure. For me, the most challenging was when I did An American Horror Story. I had to do a British accent, and it was a really small role. It was with Kathy Bates, and Angela Bassett was directing at the time. And I was so nervous. To learn to calm down your nerves, that was the most challenging. And going through that process and going in. And then she said, okay, let's do it again. Let's build it, let's build it, let's build it. And you have all these people in front of you. I think perhaps the most challenging is to not let your nerves get the best of you and to say, I belong here. Because when I did other things after that with even bigger sets. Well, not bigger sets. American Horror is pretty big. But other shows, I wasn't as nervous anymore. And I had to get that out of my system and learning how to ground myself, I think that was the most challenging.

R. Scott Edwards: 21:48

Yeah, that was the brick wall you had to kind of break through. Well, that's a great insight for anybody listening. Thank you so much. Now, what was the challenging part? What felt the most rewarding? You've written, you've directed, you've acted. What really brings Ms. Schultz out of her shell and makes her excited when.

Kerstin Schulze: 22:09

I get to be on set and I like, for the last TV show I just did with the bright gemstones to do, I did my own stunts. I got to improv, and there was some scripts. And to get the reward of the. Like Danny McBride saying your comedic timings of the charts, and I just bring in my own ideas in there. And that's amazing to be rewarded that way.

R. Scott Edwards: 22:37

Yeah. To get the freedom to do something and then have it validated by somebody that you respect means so much. And to be able to do stunts. How cool.

Kerstin Schulze: 22:47

25% of my own stunts in it. So I cannot wait for everybody to see it. It's gonna be amazing.

R. Scott Edwards: 22:55

We can't wait. Well, that leads us to the proper close. Kirsten, my audience might want to find you. We've talked about rescue dogs and Flaked with Will Arnett and there's been several TV shows. What do you have coming up that people might see you in? Or. Or is there a way to find you if they'd like to connect?

Kerstin Schulze: 23:15

So right now it's on HBO. Max the righteous gemstones opposite Walton dog and Cindy McBride. That is just the second episode is airing on Sunday and you can see me in that. And then if you want to directly reach out to me, I have a website. It's a training and a fitness website of all things. You know, if you ever want to look at transforming your body. But also you can contact me through there. It's called Party and Diet because I believe we need to diet, but we also like to party.

R. Scott Edwards: 23:49

Is that the P A R T Y a n D D I e t. Correct.

Kerstin Schulze: 23:55

Partyanddiet.com yes. And if you want to look at my Instagram, it's Kirsten Schultzer or Party and Diet. I have two different ones. One is for my acting and one is for my fitness.

R. Scott Edwards: 24:05

Well, that's amazing. And Kirsten, it's so nice of you to take time and share a little bit of your story with my audience. Congratulations on all your success coming over from Germany as somebody that had some experience but able to kind of blossom here in Hollywood and put yourself out there on movies and tv. Just an exciting career. Thank you so much for being on our show.

Kerstin Schulze: 24:29

Well, thank you for having me. It's been a pleasure, ladies and gentlemen.

R. Scott Edwards: 24:33

We'll be back next week with some straight stand up comedy. This has been a really fun interview. Kirsten, thanks again for joining us.

Kerstin Schulze: 24:41

Thank you.

R. Scott Edwards: 24:42

Have a good day, ladies and gentlemen. We'll be back later. Bye.

Announcer: 24:47

We hope you enjoyed this episode of Stand Up Comedy. Your host and mc. For information on the show merchandise and our sponsors or to send comments to Scott, visit our website at www.standupyourhostandmc.com. look for more episodes soon and enjoy the world of stand up comedy. Visit a comedy showroom near.