Mallorca Magazine - "filming in the vacation paradise is already routine for Jo Kern"
The 23-year-old is at the center of the first series of the Mallorca Series.

Of all the actors, who can be seen in "Mallorca" during weekdays, Jo Kern had the most screen minutes on camera. For she plays Lena Schilling, whose fate molds the main content in the first days of the new Daily Soap. The 23-year-old native of Munich participated in about 30 productions in the last few years, whereby her work in the vacation atmosphere under the southern sun is well-known. For example, one could see Jo Kern in 13 parts of the amateur series "Stars of the South". "We filmed in Turkey and in Greece," the actress remembers. "For "Against the Wind", I participated in the Hawaii series, and the shoots for "Dreamship" in the Caribbean was also fun."
And now Mallorca. Jo Kern had only visited the vacation island once before as a child before starting her job. "But I have heard from many of my colleagues, who have worked here in the last few years, that there are still many beautiful corners." Mallorca was also a reason to accept the offer for the series. "I probably wouldn't have done such a Daily Soap thing, if it had taken place in Cologne or Berlin. It is an attraction, to be here in the sun, by the ocean, just to be able to work where it's nice." However, Jo Kern did not have much time to explore the island, she only knows the view out of the car window on the trip from Palma to the film location.
However, even the Daily Stress will settle down yet. Jo Kern also finds her role attractive: "I play a woman, who has suffered a stroke of fate in Germany, and doesn't really know what she wants to do with her life. A tactful, sensitive, and lost in thought woman, who just needs to get away." For Jo Kern, the role of Lena Schilling is the most interesting role she has played as yet: "I can't play the young in-love person at the beach anymore, who has had her first night. However, I can't play the role of a TV commissioner. That's why it's good when you get a role that isn't the "pretty companion". Jo Kern, whose boyfriend continues to live in the mutual apartment in Cologne, also has no problems with the Daily Soap genre: "I'd rather have a nice role in a series, than to walk across the screen ten times in a movie".

Jo Kern is "The Unwanted Witness" tonight on ARD (First German Television)
by Anke Groenewold

Andrea lives in a stuffy little town and constantly rubs people the wrong way. One day, the richest man in town dies. Too bad for Andrea: she was there. Now the witch hunt starts for the young woman. Her only friend wants to help her. Together, they change her appearance. The son of the dead man promptly falls in love with Andrea. The young actress Jo Kern (23) plays the role of Andrea in Maria-Theresia Wagner's film "The Unwanted Witness". Jo Kern is attracted to demanding and unusual roles, in which she can show her versatility. She definitely does not want to be nailed down to a certain type. Therefore she plays squarely across all genres and tries to accept the most diverse parts as possible. She was attracted to the figure of Andrea, because "I could show several things and further develop my acting", says Kernke. The shoot took five weeks to finish, for the "somewhat overexcited mixture of mystery and Cinderella story" (Kernke). That's a relatively long time for a TV production. Jo Kern knew early on that she wanted to be an actress. "When I was twelve, I knew exactly that this was the direction I wanted to take", she said. She also got her first role as a twelve-year-old. The teenager had read an advertisement in the TV magazine "Gong", that a "normal young girl" was wanted, who would play next to the actor Carl Heinz Schroth. The Munich native went to the casting, got the job, and migrated to Hamburg for five weeks - an exciting event for a school girl. The 22-year-old never went to an acting school. Not because she didn't believe she needed it. Handicraft needs to be learned. She finds colleagues, who claim they don't need all of that, silly. Jo Kern takes voice lessons additionally, in order to train her voice and test the possible acting expressions. In the meantime, the young star with the smoky voice has collected a lot of practical experience - in series such as "Stars of the South", "Against the Wind", or "The Dreamship", but also in TV movies, such as Peter Ariel's "The Brothers" or Kückelmann's "Aborted". The actress has not caught a very glamorous movie appearance yet. But the actress, who lives in Cologne, does not want such a movie role at any price: "I would rather shape an interesting character in a series than to run across the screen five times during a movie", says Jo Kern. […]. Jo Kern is a woman of many talents. Music plays an important role in her life, she explains. She sang in a band and still plays the guitar. If she isn't preparing for a role, then she's standing in front of her easel and paints with oils. "Someday I'll exhibit again." Jo Kern is capable of doing everything.

Three women don't give a damn about small-minded class conflict
Not only the "Unwanted Witness" shows acting class - Native country film with clear pictorial language
By Elzbieta Tittelbach

Asta Scheibs native country mystery "The Unwanted Witness" seems archaic, yet modern at the same time, which Maria Theresia Wagner ("The Night of the Marten") filmed sympathetically, and which can be seen on ARD (First German TV) at 11:15pm. The cast is fittingly original Bavarian with the newcomer Jo Kern ("Star of the South"), the folk actress Veronika Fitz, also known as "The Caretaker", and the Dirndl-wearing folk woman par excellence, Christine Neubauer ("Lion Pit") […] Even if some of the figures are roughly sketched, the dramatics never triumph over the vitality of the characters. The pictorial language is clear, Maria Theresia Wagner succeeds in inking pretty landscape tableaus without sliding into the picturesque flavor. With such a classic-earthy backwoods drama, especial attention is drawn to the characters. And they are a great big plus in this small TV movie. Jo Kern, who has attracted more attention by being the illegitimate daughter of Pinkas Braun than by the roles she played, plays the tomboyish Andrea supremely nuanced […]

"Just being the pretty companion is just not enough for me"
Jo Kern about roles, offers, drawers and chances

She is the daughter of Pinkas Braun, and was one of the "Stars of the South" with her mysterious blue-green eyes: Jo Kern. Today she can be seen in "The Unwanted Witness". Norbert Wehrstedt spoke to the 22-year-old.

Question: you play…
Jo Kern: … a modern Cinderella. An outsider in a Bavarian town. When an accident happens there, she claims it was a murder. That turns the entire town against Andrea.
Sounds like a native country movie.
It is, however, a mystery fairy-tale.
The role was supposedly written for you?
I once lived as sublease to the author. When she finished the book, she remembered me and called me, and said she would like me to play the role.
A dream role?
A very nice one. But, a dream role? I would like to shoot a Western…
And what about the continuation of "Stars of the South"?
A very nice time, but I don't want to be nailed to the type of a pretty girl.
Is there a danger?
After "Stars of the South" I received many offers, in which I was only supposed to be the pretty companion. It's not enough for me. I think that I am versatile and can play everything - from the junky to the vamp.
How do you choose your roles?
If I can further develop my acting talents. The business is so short-lived that I look for attractive roles in which I can open up.
What about a movie?
Naturally, but I generally would rather play a demanding role in a series than an idiot in the movies.

(Leipzig National Newspaper, July 15, 1998)

To paint is almost as attractive as to act
Interview with the actress Jo Kern

Whoever has seen her in a role, she remains memorable: Jo Kern belongs to the actors, who are convincing based on their charisma and expressions. Besides that, she belongs, in the meantime, to the almost old-fashioned type of actor, who live for their career, and take months of preparation into account in order to be really good. Without effort, this can be checked tonight in the TV movie "The Unwanted Witness".

You are only 23 years old, but already an old hand in the business. How did you come to be an actress?
II was born into it, my mother is an actress and my father, Pinkas Braun, also. As a school girl I participated in smaller roles, and my first big role was when I was twelve - in Carl Heinz Schroth's "Ede and the kid". With 16 I played in "Aborted", and since then I've become addicted, since then I just can't stop.
You've already been seen in many movie and TV films. Which ones did you like the best?
I think it was 30 productions, in which I had larger or smaller roles. Which ones did I like the best? Hm, that's difficult, but my part next to Senta Berger in "My Son is No Murderer" was very interesting.
For the ARD (First German TV) TV movie "The Unwanted Witness", the role was written specifically for you. How did that come about?
That was just a happy coincidence. I lived sublease in the house, in which the author Asta Scheib also lived. She saw me and said to me: Judith, I'm writing a book at the moment, and the girl that appears in the book could be played by you. I had almost forgotten this encounter, but two years later she called me and told me that I had been planned for the leading role.
[..]
Do you love happy ends?
A really good film can manage without a Happy End; but if it has a logical result and isn't too corny, then it is nice, if everything turns out well in the end. I think that everybody would rather have a happy end than a bad one, no matter the case.
What would be a dream role for you?
I could make it easy for myself and just say "Cinderella" or something - a dream role for me is dependent upon the role profile and the script.
What do you do when you aren't shooting a film?
Painting, mainly graphical things like Chinese and Japanese character symbols. I need it as balance. In the meantime, I am daring to do portraits. And music also plays an important role for me.

(Interview: Melitta Ruge)
East Thuringer Newspaper, July 15, 1998