Overview
- In a dpa interview published Feb. 1, the 58-year-old comedian said US President Donald Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin offer especially rewarding material for comics.
- He described Angela Merkel's long chancellorship as "totally boring" for parody, saying impressions relied mostly on mannerisms rather than substance.
- Appelt said audiences now recognize few federal politicians, which is why he still imitates former chancellor Helmut Kohl as a widely known figure.
- He dismissed the claim that "one is no longer allowed to say anything" as nonsense and urged younger colleagues to speak more boldly on stage.
- Born in Essen and raised in Würzburg, Appelt is a regular on ARD's satire show "Nuhr im Ersten," and he contrasted today's scene with earlier "types" like Franz Josef Strauß.