Gays of our Lives (March 30, 2009)

AE: Why did the show break them up? Do you think they'll ever get back together?
DG: Breaking up Deniz and Roman was the only way it could end. Soaps are just a reflection of the world we live in, and whether we like it or not, in real life there are no happy endings, especially when you fall in love with the wrong person, in our case, being in love with a bisexual man. I am not saying it is wrong to love someone who is bisexual, but as someone once said to me, “I never met a bisexual man living with his boyfriend, [who] sneaks out to meet his girlfriend.” Neither did I.

As far as getting Deniz and Roman back together, I can’t see how this would happen. But one never knows. At the end of the day we are talking about [a] soap and if Mr. Ewing can reappear in the shower after being dead for some time, I suppose there is some possibility that there could be [a] happy ending for Deniz and Roman. I mean we were always in the shower!

AE: What did you like best about that storyline? What has been your favorite story since you've been with the show?
DG: Making the moments of tenderness between Deniz and Roman believable on screen was something that seemed the most important thing to me. I believe we had some really good moments within our story, where a kind of chemistry between the two of us came across on screen, which is for me, the ultimate of what an actor can achieve in front of a camera.

I don´t have particular storylines I like, but what I love about ATM is the ironic tone it has, and the comedy moments, which is actually what I always wanted to do.

AE: Why do you think the couple was so popular and still is even though they haven't been together for quite some time?
DG: I think we became so popular because the storyline really hit on something that people could relate to and indeed have experienced their selves. People tend to think it´s the romance we are interested in, but actually it´s the obstacles that lie in our way. It is the obstacles to love that makes it more intense and more meaningful, but also more impossible.

This is a story that has been told for hundreds of years, through art, poetry, and recently through film. I think this is also the underlying reason why our characters are still popular today. It is in our nature to believe that love will prevail, even over the most difficult of situations.

Since breaking up with Deniz, Roman has spent most of his time
scheming with the evil Jenny (Silvia Maleen)

AE: What would you like to see the show do with your character?
DG: It´s not about what I would like. At the end of the day we are all at the mercy of the writers. However, I think it would be fun to have a special where all the characters on the show became gay. We could do a week of Queer as Folk Cologne-Ossendorf.

I would be especially happy about this, as I might get to have sex scenes in the showers with all the male cast. Well, the ones that I actually fancy. And who knows, I might even turn out myself to be bisexual, and also have a little bit of fun with Annette? Oh, I forgot we already did!

Roman and Annette (Ulrike Röseberg)