Diane Kruger, welcome to The Daily Show.
Thank you. First time.
Right.
Willkommen bei The Daily Show, and bienvenue a la--
a la Daily Show--
I don't speak French.
So I don't know.
But you do.
You do.
You're one of the more impressive actors I've
ever come across in my life.
Because not only are you in some of the most iconic films,
but you do it in multiple languages.
So we've seen you in English films.
We've seen you in German films.
We've seen you in French films.
I would love to know where you are most comfortable acting--
which language?
I don't want to brag, but truly I'm
comfortable in all languages.
It took me a while.
TREVOR NOAH: Yeah?
That sounds like such a brag. I know.
TREVOR NOAH: No, it doesn't. - It's awful.
No, you know what?
In French, I feel like I am a little bit
of a different person. TREVOR NOAH: Yes.
I feel sweeter, you know?
I feel a little-- - Oh, I like that.
Yeah.
In German, it's definitely more to the point.
- Did that makes sense? - Ya.
- Yeah, yeah. - All good.
Yeah.
And English is just-- it's the easiest language, I find.
What do you-- like, the easiest in general?
Easiest in terms of, like, it goes fast.
It goes-- it's funny. Like, it's short.
You know, you don't have to think about it.
There are many actors where they'll dub the language
or they'll change who the person--
you're one of the few where German-speaking people
love your movies in Germany.
And then French-speaking people love your movies in French.
It's rare to find that.
Now you're adding to your resume as well.
I mean, when they said Diane's coming on for a book,
I was like, what kind of book?
And they said, a children's book.
I couldn't imagine what it would be.
But it's really beautiful.
Thank you.
A Name from the Sky, tell me what inspired
the writing of the book.
So I was in Los Angeles just before the pandemic,
and I was working, right?
And my mom from Germany was there,
helping with my daughter, who was about one at the time.
And then the world shut down.
And weeks turned into months literally.
And I hadn't spent this much time with my mom
since I was 16.
And we started talking about my childhood and stories,
you know, I had forgotten.
And so-- and I remember that when I was a kid--
and I was kind of an odd kid--
that she changed my life by telling
me the meaning of my name, which
was quite unusual in Germany.
I know that sounds strange.
Diane-- it's not a uncommon name.
Yeah, you talk about that in the book, but Diane--
I didn't know-- is not common in Germany.
It's not common at all.
So do they say Diane, or do they say--
They say "Deanna," and it rhymes with banana,
like Deanna, banana.
TREVOR NOAH: Oh, wow.
So, yeah, I was--
TREVOR NOAH: Even in Germany, the kids are the same.
[laughter]
If not worse.
[laughs] Deanna de banana--
OK, I can see it.
But, look, so I started writing things down.
And I thought, well, if I felt odd with a name like Diane,
I'm sure there's lots of kids that feel odd about their name
or they feel that they don't fit in.
And so I started writing it down.
And I thought about my own daughter
and how long we thought about giving her name.
And that's kind of how it started.
TREVOR NOAH: It's a really wonderful book about belonging
about understanding where you come from, why you're
special, why you're important.
When you think of your life as a mom now,
what are some of the things you hope to instill in your child
that you wish every child should have?
I really, truly believe that every child that is born
is perfect as it is, right?
And we all have--
I can see it in my daughter and her friends.
They all have something special that is so powerful.
And they don't know it yet, right?
And when I became a mom, I felt the responsibility
and the opportunity to give her wings,
like, to curate her world--
TREVOR NOAH: I love that.
--so that she can be whoever she wants to be,
whether that's-- not everybody can be an actor--
whether she wants to sell ice cream
in Washington Square Park.
TREVOR NOAH: Right, right.
But whatever makes you you is great, right?
And so I didn't grow up like this.
But my mom changed my life when she
said, at 15, you can quit school
and go to Paris for a year.
TREVOR NOAH: Wow. - But she really did.
She trusted me, right?
She said, OK, I'm going to trust you.
Because I was going to get kicked out of school
for working as a model.
And my principal said--
TREVOR NOAH: Wait.
Your school was going to kick you out--
- Yeah. - --for working as a model.
Yeah, because I was getting jobs in Paris,
and I was missing school.
This is a German school, I'm assuming.
OK.
Yeah, that sounds like a very German thing.
Yeah.
They're just like, nein, kinder cannot be sexy.
Nein. OK.
Exactly.
And when I told my mom, I couldn't
believe it that she said to me, no, I'm going to trust you.
OK, I know this is what you want to do.
TREVOR NOAH: That is wild.
You should go.
TREVOR NOAH: And you've never looked back.
No, but it's truly the reason why I am who I am today.
The life that I've had is thanks to that.
And that's one of the reasons I wrote this book is because I
feel like we can make that happen for children,
and we should trust them.
I love that.
And how old is your daughter now?
She just turned four.
So she can read the book with you.
She must love it.
What does she think about the book that's
written and inspired by her?
You know, it's a little touchy, feely at first.
[laughter]
TREVOR NOAH: Wait, wait.
I mean, she totally called BS on me being a goddess, right?
It's just like, definitely you're not a goddess.
She was not pleased with my choice
of having red shoes on her dress
with a blue dress and red shoes.
That was a minor meltdown.
She hated her outfit in the book?
- Yes. - I like your daughter.
I like this already.
Yeah.
Now she's four.
It's getting a little better.
And when I told her, you know, I've been on this book tour,
and I said, I need to leave because I'm
talking about your book, honey, and she just started crying.
She said, please, don't sell my book.
It's my story.
I don't won't you to sell it.
So it's cute. - I love this.
Well, you know what?
It's a wonderful story.
I love seeing you express your life
in a completely different way.
Thank you so much for joining us.
Thank you so much.
Merci, gracias, danke schoen, siyabonga, [non-english]..
Thank you so much for being here.
Oh, no he's bragging. No, you were right.
Thank you so much for being on the show.
Really appreciate you.
A Name in the Sky is available now.