In the ZDF crime series “Bloody Beginners” Eric Cordes plays the young police officer Phillip Schneider. The evening series has been broadcast since January 2020 and revolves around police students who have to act between campus, crime scenes and private complications.
The sixth and final season, which was filmed in Berlin, Potsdam and Halle, is currently running. Buildings in Green Park in Stahnsdorf serve as the police college. A lot of local color, also for Cordes, who was born in 1996 and has been part of the main cast since the fourth season.
And where, among other things, his large tattoos catch the eye. Cordes said in a recent interview that his first tattoos were done in Cuba – in the back room of a barbershop. “Of course, all of the first tattoos were very meaningful, as is probably the case with most people.” He has now had one of them done, says the actor, who has been from Berlin for some time now.
Here he initially lived in Prenzlauer Berg and is now at home in Charlottenburg. Eric Cordes gives a very Solomonic answer to which part of the city he likes best in our Berlin questionnaire.
1. Mr. Cordes, you come from the beautiful Hanseatic city of Bremen. When did you end up in the much larger Berlin?
I left Bremen, the most beautiful of all Hanseatic cities (yes, Hamburg, it is like that), at the beginning of 2022 to move to Berlin. The decision came with the decision to play a leading role in “Bloody Beginners”.
2. You spent a formative part of your youth in the Osterholz-Tenever district of Bremen, a hotspot district. Has this steeled you for life in the capital or does something here always frighten you?
Bremen is often said to be a village, but it has many of the characteristics of a big city. But what actually frightens me in Berlin is the extent of homelessness and homelessness, especially in relation to the speculative vacancy. There are no official figures, but estimates are that there are more than 30,000 homeless people in the capital, 5,000 to 8,000 of whom live on the streets. At the same time, over 40,000 apartments in Berlin are empty.
3. Now that you have spent some time here, can you still imagine going back to Bremen one day?
If you had told me five years ago that I was now living in Berlin as an actor, I would probably have said “never”. Even if my relationship with Bremen is ambivalent and I couldn’t imagine it at the moment: Never say never.
4. You do martial arts, boxing, weight training. Does such knowledge help you in everyday life in the big city?
An old bouncer colleague once said that (martial) sports provide a certain “preventive look”, which thankfully means that this knowledge never needs to be applied.
Sonja Tobias
To person
Eric Cordes has been in front of the camera for film and television productions since 2020. He made his cinema debut in the drama “Violence” by Constantin Hatz, which premiered at the Berlinale in February 2022. He played the aggressive Michael, who exploits and bullies his younger, 15-year-old brother Daniel, who is caring for their terminally ill father.
In the international television series “The Network – Game on the Abyss” he took on an episode role in the opening episode. In addition, Cordes was seen in well-known productions such as “In aller Friendship” and “Großstadtrevier”. In the successful Amazon format “The Discounters” he briefly played the store detective Kevo. His “Bloody Beginners” runs every Wednesday at 7:25 p.m. on the Second, and the episodes are also available in the ZDF media library.
5. What is your favorite place in Berlin?
I am a big fan of Berlin cinema culture. I am a regular customer, especially at the Yorck cinemas.
6. Your personal no-go area?
One of the first things I was told when I moved here: “Don’t go swimming in the Spree.” I’ve stuck to that to this day.
7. Where in Berlin have you always wanted to go but never managed to?
I’ve driven past the Botanical Garden so many times but haven’t managed to go yet. So the Botanical Garden is at the top of the list, followed by lots of restaurants.
8. Shopping in the city: In which store does your credit card have no limit?
If I go to Neuköllner:innen in a snack mood, it becomes very dangerous. This cereal bar on Weichselstrasse really has everything your heart desires in terms of sweets and snacks.
9. An evening with friends – which restaurant is reserved?
After our inner child has been delighted with sweets, we go to the Jaja wine bar opposite. There is not only good natural wine, but above all a creative menu and the best service. And their sourdough bread is brutally delicious.
10. The best district in Berlin?
It’s almost unpleasant how diplomatic this answer is, but I can learn something from all the parts of the city I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know so far. Whether in the side streets of Kantstrasse in Charlottenburg, on Paul-Lincke-Ufer in Kreuzberg or between Cuban restaurants in Schöneberg: Berlin has so much to offer, and even after almost three years I’m still getting to know this city. In a few years there will be an undiplomatic answer.
11. What annoys you most about the city?
As a Bremer, I still have to learn that it doesn’t just take 20 minutes from door to door.
12. Coming vs. Going: Move to Berlin or leave it alone?
I always say: Do what you feel. For me, Berlin was the right decision and I’m happy to be here.
