Actor Adam Karst joins us on Close-Up Culture to talk about his role in the TV series, The Tattooist of Auschwitz.
Based on the eponymously entitled novel, the series tells the powerful real-life story of Lali Sokolov, a Jewish prisoner who was tasked with tattooing ID numbers on prisoners’ arms in the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp during World War Two.
Given the seriousness of the material, I imagine a role like this demands more preparation than others. How did you approach this project and get in the right mindset for it?
ADAM KARST: Growing up in Israel, learning about the Holocaust is a significant part of our education. We have Holocaust Remembrance Day every year, where all TV channels, schools, and institutions dedicate the day to remembering the Holocaust. So, in a way, my mind was already conditioned with a lot of this information before I even started the project. To prepare further, I dove into survivor accounts, and one book that deeply affected me was Viktor Frankl’s “Man’s Search for Meaning.” His vivid descriptions really helped me grasp the harrowing experiences of the Holocaust on a much deeper level.
Can you tell us about your character, Pepan, and the challenges of playing him?
AK: Pepan was a French political prisoner responsible for tattooing numbers on prisoners in Auschwitz-Birkenau. He sees something in Lale and essentially saves his life by offering him a position on his tattooing team. For me, this role had personal resonance. My grandfather, Henry Karoubi, was an Algerian Jew who joined the French Foreign Legion to escape the grim future for Jews in Algeria. He was a prisoner of war in Vietnam for two years and suffered severe PTSD, which led to his early death from a heart attack. Playing Pepan allowed me to connect, in a small way, with what my grandfather endured. Conveying the horror of those realities to the audience was a huge challenge, and I hope I did it justice.
What was the experience like on set filming such a heavy and emotional story?
AK: Filming took place in winter in Slovakia, and it was incredibly cold, especially for the outdoor scenes. The shivering you see on screen was very real. The set was meticulously built to resemble a real concentration camp, using authentic materials. Walking onto the set, seeing hundreds of extras in full costume and makeup, felt eerily real and helped immerse me in the mindset needed for such a role. After filming, I fell into a deep depression, and it wasn’t until I received an email from the production offering free therapy that I realized the full impact the project had on me.
What was your biggest takeaway from working on the show?
AK: On a personal level, I realized I still have a lot to learn about acting and being my best self when it counts. On a broader scale, I’m reminded of how recent the Holocaust was and how capable we humans are of inflicting such horrors on each other, even today.
What impact do you hope the show has on audiences?
AK: I hope this project serves as a powerful reminder and a lesson for humanity to set aside hate and injustice. My dream is for future generations to live in a world free of war and hunger, where every child can grow up in a safe and nurturing environment, far removed from the horrors of the past.
What is next for you?
AK: I’ve launched a creative production company and am currently developing several film and TV projects. One of these is “Mamad,” inspired by a heroic mother who saved her two children during the events of October 7th. It will also serve as a pilot for a series called “Anatomy of War.” Additionally, I’m working on an espionage TV thriller and adapting two books by my late mentor and friend Larry Quinn—one set in the Gold Rush era and the other his memoir from the Vietnam War. Acting-wise, I have a TV series called “Amia” coming out soon, and an action thriller from India that we shot in the UK. I’m very excited about both and deeply value the amazing cast and crew I had the pleasure of working with.
Title image by Jill Sutherland