Only a fool does not fear actors, but you can't beat them, and if you can't beat them, join them, as they say. As I've got older I've become very interested in that part of the work.

S. — Press Conference for Melancholia Cannes 2011

Referring to the art of Nazi architect Albert Speer von Trier added:.

As he himself said in an interview "basically I'm afraid of everything in life except filmmaking. He is closely associated with the Dogme 95 collective – an avant-garde filmmaking movement – although his own films have taken a variety of approaches. Von Trier suffers periodically from depression as well as various fears and phobias including an intense fear of flying.