German actor Idan Weiss says one of the keys to his critically praised portrayal of Franz Kafka in Agnieszka Holland’s “Franz” was locking in on the iconic writer’s sensitivity.

“He just wanted to find someone who understands him, and that never happened,” he says. It’s an interesting point of view about one of the most famous authors of the 20th century, best known for the novella “The Metamorphosis.” Kafka’s work still fascinates readers — like Polish filmmaking legend Holland.

It’s not a traditional biopic, but adopts quirks found in mockumentaries, and also jumps through time. But always at the center is Weiss, who practically vibrates with energy that he cannot release, his large eyes telling the story of the writer’s thoughts and feelings.

It has earned him a European Film Award nomination for best actor, while the film is Poland’s entry in the international Oscar race.

And it was his first feature film role. He maybe was a little nervous but it was more about him getting the role right. “I asked myself, how I can play this role well. And then I tried to look for the character’s sensitivity. … I’m not a huge fan of reading biographies of people, or watching biographies of people. I wanted to create my own version.”

But Weiss did read a biography of Kafka and the writer’s diaries. “When I read the diaries, I felt so much connected, in a way, because everything was written there — who he was and how he sees the world.”

Weiss notes that while on set, he and Holland discussed a few scenes, “and then we tried to search for [Kafka]. So at the end of the day, it’s so weird, but I felt like I didn’t really play him. I just searched for him in a way. And from shooting day to shooting day, we got closer to him.”

Weiss gets a little giddy when asked if he was excited to work with Holland.

“Yes,” he says emphatically. “I have to admit I was!” He mentions WWII drama “Europa Europa” and 2024’s “Green Border,” which deals frankly with immigration, among the films of hers that he’s been inspired by: “It’s so good that we still have directors who are really political, and it’s so important to them to be political.”

He says Holland created high energy on the set. “She gave us a lot of freedom for improvisation. So it was a wonderful work atmosphere. I really enjoyed it.”

But it also sounds like Weiss left everything on the set every day. “I come from theater, from experimental theater, performance theater, underground theater, where I try to go past my boundaries, so this was completely overwhelming. And I can remember when, at the end of the shooting day, I walked like two hours around a track to come down somehow.”

Weiss is filming the English-language “Save Our Souls” next, and is working on an album that he hopes with come out in early 2026 with his band, Traumwerk.

He remembers being bullied a lot when he was a kid, but then when he was a teenager, a friend took him to an acting class, and he never looked back.

“It took me, like, eight years, nine years, to get a role like this. And I never gave up, and I still keep on going, no matter how hard it was.” He says he was going to give up acting and then the “Franz” casting came up ,“and I just thought, ‘OK, I have to do this. If I’m not doing this, I’m stupid.’ So I did it — and it’s so interesting, because it’s like, you have to give up something in your head, and then it comes back to you and it shines in your heart. So it was so lovely to experience. It’s life.”