Recklinghausen/Los Angeles – actor Ralf Moeller (64, "Gladiator") secretly foisted vegan food on his parents. "Yes, that's right. For example, I brought them schnitzel - but on a plant basis," said the 64-year-old of the German Press Agency.

It was served with a light tomato sauce. "And so I did it again and again without saying it big," he reported. "But at some point I said: Here, you do know that you've eaten vegan from time to time for the last two weeks?" His parents' comment was: "Oh, well, but it was tasty."

Moeller comes from Recklinghausen and was once a bodybuilder. He became famous with his film role as a muscular swordsman in the blockbuster "Gladiator" (2000). In the meantime, however, the qualified swimming champion is also involved with vegan nutrition. Together with chef Timo Franke, he recently published his own cookbook. Moeller says that he has largely switched his eating habits to a vegan diet.

He loved mother's roulades

Moeller's parents play an important role in his life. He spent the corona lockdown with them in Recklinghausen - he actually lives in Los Angeles. Father Helmut, once a welder and locksmith, died in May 2022.

"I'm 64 now, father was 93 when he died. You want to get old as long as you're fit - physically and mentally," said Moeller about aging. If that is no longer the case, then you go "to gladiator heaven".

However, he found that the body no longer processes everything easily in the fourth "chapter". This includes eating a lot of meat. He too had to change, even if he had always paid attention to his food because of his sport. "I loved mother's roulades!" said Moeller. "I don't want to deny that at all."

Moeller, Ralf; Franke, Timo: Vegan Gladiators. Vegan tastes so blatantly good – favorite recipes for every day, Becker Joest Volk Verlag, Hilden, 192 pages, 82 photos, EUR 28.00, ISBN 978-3-95453-283-4