NINA PROLL AND GREGOR BLOÉB

Nina Proll and Gregor Bloéb, one a Tyrolean by choice, the other a native of Innsbruck, share both a love of the stage and their love for each other.

Nina Proll was born into an artistic family, and was interested in acting from an early age. She studied at the Vienna Conservatory and made her acting debut at the age of 18. She first met the man in her life, brother of Tobias Moretti, while shooting an episode of Tatort back in 1999. But at the time, things didn’t go further than a one-sided crush, since Bloéb was already spoken for. “It wasn’t until years later that things really clicked,” says Proll, who gained initial fame in 1995 thanks to Xaver Schwarzenberger’s social comedy Das Kapital.

For Gregor Bloéb things were much the same: He discovered his passion for acting very early on, studied at a Viennese drama school, and was soon able to make a name for himself on stage as well as in front of the camera. Since playing the hotelier’s son Stefan Wechselberger in Felix Mitterer’s cult series Piefke Saga at the end of the 1980s, he has become familiar to an even broader audience.

For Bloéb, it doesn’t make much difference whether he’s working with his wife, with his brother Tobias Moretti, or with any of his other acting colleagues. “Once a certain level of quality is hit, it doesn’t matter. After all, it also doesn’t matter whether I particularly like the actor I’m working with. We’re all professionals – we make it work,” explains Bloéb.

Just recently Bloéb was promoted to the position of artistic director of the Tiroler Volksschauspiele in Telfs. His ambition: to move closer to the original idea of creating outstanding folk theater with exceptional Tyrolean actors. Proll, who has chosen Tyrol as her home, is also very happy about this new development, as the region’s beauty, picturesque mountain scenery, and cultural diversity never cease to inspire her.

“After all, work usually means travel. So I’m all the more pleased that we have the opportunity to work here,” says Proll, noting with a wink, “I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for him. I never would have imagined that one day I would land in Tyrol, but here I am and I’m very happy about it now.” n