Damian Hardung shared his secret to balancing work and life, explaining how he resets after long days on set.
The actor, who has been a main character in Maxton Hall—The World Between Us since its premiere in May, 2024, revealed that studying gave him a channel to "decompress" after filming intense scenes.
He describes his role in the second season of the Prime Video's most successful international original series ever as being particularly challenging because of the dark and heavy emotions tied to his character's grief, guilt, and family struggles.
If he had gone from filming directly into a break with nothing to focus on, he feels he might have struggled to process everything.
"Honestly, I don't think it was possible [to decompress] during the shooting period,” the 27-year-old told People. "I think I only really decompressed after."
"I did that by just leaving the country, studying a lot. I studied for my second state exam in med school, so that was a lot of fun," he continued.
By diving deep in his medical studies, Damian found a way to stay grounded and distracted from the intensity of his acting role.
"It's a different world to immerse myself in, and the medical field definitely is one that....offers itself to be immersed in. And so I need it and I feed from it, I feel like, to an extent,” he added.
The medical field, with its own complexities and focus, provided a healthy outlet, a way to focus his mind on something entirely different and constructive.
It helped the German actor maintain balance and prevent burnout from such a heavy and demanding job.
So for Damian, who plays James Beaufort in the series, adapted from Mona Kasten's bestselling Save Me trilogy, studying was his coping mechanism, reprieving from the emotional toll of acting.
