Starring a massive cast from nearly a dozen countries and featuring almost as many languages, 1899 takes place on board a steamship filled with hopeful immigrants ready to start new lives in New York City — until a message from a mysterious missing ship changes the course of their journey.

Creators Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese, who also helmed the fan favorite Dark, have crafted a puzzle with plenty of pieces, and they tapped their previous series’ star, Andreas Pietschmann, to play one of the main characters.

Below, Pietschmann tells Tudum about his creative collaborators, where the series was filmed, the use of ILM StageCraft’s immersive digital backdrops and working with people from all over the world.

Andreas Pietschmann in 1899.

What was it like working on the — well, I don’t know the technical term, but the Mandalorian stage?
Well, you're probably referring to the 1899 stage, right?

Absolutely.
That’s what we call it. You’re right; actually the technique I think was used the first time for The Mandalorian. Now [we’re using it on 1899] for the first time in Europe and on a really huge stage, one of the biggest stages in the world — maybe the biggest in Europe. There was some pioneer work because none of us had ever worked that way. It’s simple to explain in words, but you can imagine that you’re on the stage and the stage is surrounded by a three-quarter circle. It’s a high wall, about 5 meters high and 50 meters long, out of LED panels. The background directing in the scene is being shown on these LED panels, so you’re not standing in the studio in front of a green screen. You actually naturally see something on the screen, and that has an effect on you. That helps you a lot because your imagination does not have to work at the same rate as it used to before. So you can focus on other things that are important to play the scene. It was a great help for us actors to work with, and I liked it a lot. I think this will be a big part of the future.

Go Behind the Scenes of ‘1899’

What’s it like to be part of such an international cast? 
Well, this too is a great gift. Somebody told me about an interview that I did, like, 25 years ago, and what I said is that I would love to take a look behind the curtain and take a look outside Germany, outside of where I’m used to working. And I [think] actually, this is what I’m doing right now. This is what I’ve been given the opportunity [to do]. I appreciate that a lot because I know dealing with other nations, with other cultures, other languages [forces] you [to] make an effort to understand them. The effort to understand others is the first step to tolerance, and I think that’s what is lacking most in this world. That’s why I like doing it this way and taking steps into this direction. This is an international show with many, many different languages. And all of us, we got inspired by the others and we got lessons taught, and so that was a great, great thing.

What was it like to reunite with everybody from Dark and start a new project together?
That was really a great gift, to see them all together. I was very happy to be part of one of their shows again. During the work on Dark, a real family came into existence. We call it the Dark Family, and whenever we meet somewhere, it’s always a big reunion and everyone’s happy. So because they’ve reunited us, I had the feeling that something very [similar] was coming into existence while working on1899. It was really a great pleasure to see many of them behind the camera because many [people who] worked on Dark were working on 1899 as well. It was really a gift for me.

Stefan Erhard/Netflix

Andreas Pietschmann as The Stranger in Dark.

Are there any similarities between the shows?
They have a couple things in common. They have that stupid actor who looks very much alike. [Laughs.] I mean, it’s me again in the shows, and of course, it’s still my face. So there are some [similarities]. But apart from that, it’s really a new show. Of course, fans of Dark might read some of what we call leitmotifs in German, some symbols and things that remind you of Dark – like the way they treat the music, that there are symbols in the show. Of course, here, too, we have loads of mysteries. That’s like [the creators’] handwriting. You can recognize that. But apart from that, it’s a really different show.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.