Daniel Donskoy hears rain sounds – then his Berlin apartment catches fire

TVS News AI, editorially supervised, presents Daniel Donskoy hears rain sounds – then his Berlin apartment catches fire.

Imagine waking up at night and hearing a soft crackling. You think of rain – but it's the fire devouring your apartment. That's exactly what happened to actor Daniel Donskoy, as he recounted on the talk show "Inas Nacht." The 36-year-old, who appeared in the Netflix series "The Crown" among others, experienced two dramatic fires within a single year: first a film set where he was currently shooting – and shortly afterwards his apartment in Berlin.

Both Focus and TV Spielfilm pick up on the appearance. Both report in agreement that Donskoy spoke on "Inas Nacht" about the two fires that struck him in quick succession. The available reports say little about the exact background of the film set fire – both sources mention the incident without providing further details about the production.

First the set, then the apartment – within a year

The timeline is clear: First the film set Donskoy was working on goes up in flames. Shortly after, his Berlin apartment goes up in smoke. On "Inas Nacht" he recalls:

My place … was harsh.

As for what exactly happened at the film set, the available sources are silent. What's certain is that the fire weighs on Donskoy so much that months later he brings it up again on a talk show before an audience of millions – together with the second, even deeper shock.

The night he heard rain

What follows is the scene that provides the hook for the reports: Donskoy wakes up in his Berlin apartment and hears a sound he initially takes for rain. Only when he realizes what's actually happening does it dawn on him that his apartment is on fire. On "Inas Nacht" he describes the moment:

I look to the right and the whole balcony was already in flames and it was already pulling up into the roof structure!

In a later interview with the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung, he looks back on that night – and describes, "the next morning my apartment in Berlin was in flames – right next to the New Synagogue."

The apartment he lost was thus located in the heart of Berlin, within sight of the New Synagogue. The available sources say nothing about the amount of property damage or whether there were any injuries.

What he takes away from the fire

Despite the losses, he also takes something from the experience. On "Inas Nacht" he says:

That sounds totally absurd now, but there's something almost liberating about it. You stand below, look up, and all the material things burn.

What matters to him are not material things:

It's the memories, what you have. Your life, your feelings, and not the shirt and the shoes.

What remained of the apartment – and where he lives now

Since the fire, Donskoy no longer lives in Berlin. As the WAZ reports in an interview, he now lives in London. Asked where he feels most comfortable, he answers:

I feel most comfortable in my own four walls in London.

What he took with him from Berlin is not described in the sources. What's clear is that there is no return to the old apartment – it simply no longer exists in the form he knew it.

How he processed the experience – and what "Brennen" has to do with it

What Donskoy carries with him in the months that follow is above all the work. The actor, who already won the Grimme Prize for the WDR production "Freitagnacht Jews," is writing his first novel: "Brennen" (Burning). This is reported in agreement by the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung and the Göttinger Allgemeine.

In the book, he processes what the double fire experience did to him. In an interview with the NOZ, he says with a mix of gallows humor and seriousness:

Maybe the apartment just burned down so I could write a book called "Brennen" (Burning).

– a line picked up by several newspapers.

What remains in the end

Two fires in quick succession, a destroyed Berlin apartment next to the New Synagogue, a fresh start in London. Donskoy takes this story public – on "Inas Nacht" before an audience of millions, in interviews, and finally in his novel. For fans, what remains above all is respect for an actor who, after the blows, doesn't fall silent but keeps telling his story: on stage, on television, and on paper.