Jan Josef Liefers (born 8 August 1964) is a German actor, producer, director and musician.

Life

Liefers was born in

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

, the son of director Karlheinz Liefers and actress Brigitte Liefers-Wähner. After his apprenticeship he studied at the Hochschule für Schauspielkunst Ernst Busch in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. From 1987 until 1990 he acted at the

Deutsches Theater Berlin The Deutsches Theater is a theater in Berlin, Germany. It was built in 1850 as Friedrich-Wilhelm-Städtisches Theater, after Frederick William IV of Prussia. Located on Schumann Street (Schumannstraße), the Deutsches Theater consists of two adj ...

; after this he moved to the Thalia Theater in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

. His first role in cinema was

Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 1769 – 6 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, natural history, naturalist, List of explorers, explorer, and proponent of Romanticism, Romantic philosophy and Romanticism ...

in the East German film '. Following that, Liefers appeared in some minor film roles; however, in 1996 he achieved his breakthrough with the

Helmut Dietl Helmut Dietl (; 22 June 1944 – 30 March 2015) was a German film director and author from Bad Wiessee. Work After leaving grammar school in 1958, Dietl completed a degree in theatre studies and history of art. He then became head of photogra ...

film '. He received the

Bayerischer Filmpreis The Bavarian Film Awards () are film awards given to German films in the state of Bavaria, awarded by the state government. Background and description The Bavarian Film Awards have been awarded annually since 1979 by the state government of Bav ...

for his role ''(Bodo Kriegnitz)''. As a result of this success, he was awarded roles in several German films. He has been playing pathologist Dr. Karl Friedrich Boerne in the famed crime serial ''

Tatort ("Crime Scene") is a German-language police procedural television series that has been running continuously since 1970 with 30 feature-length episodes per year, making it the longest-running German TV drama. Developed by the German public-se ...

'' since 2002. Liefers is a keen motorcyclist and in 2007 started on a trip of a lifetime from Quito, Ecuador to Patagonia in South America. Unfortunately, his trip came to a premature end when he was injured avoiding a collision with a young child who ran out in front of his motorbike. In 2008 a film of the trip called "70° West – Entscheidung in Peru" (Decision in Peru) was shown on German TV channel DMAX. In April 2021, Liefers was a leading figure of a group of German actors criticizing the coronavirus policies in Germany, with the campaign #Allesdichtmachen (“shut everything down”). The campaign was heavily criticized. Liefers married actress and singer

Anna Loos Anna Loos (born 18 November 1970) is a German actress and singer. She has appeared in more than fifty films since 1996. From 2006 till 2018 she was the voice of rock band Silly. She is married to the actor Jan Josef Liefers. They have two daugh ...

in 2004. Previously he had been married to

Alexandra Tabakova Alexandra () is a female given name of Greek origin. It is the first attested form of its variants, including Alexander (, ). Etymology, Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; genitive, GEN , ; ...

, a Russian actress.

Filmography

* ' (1989) * ' (1991) * ''Charlie & Louise – Das doppelte Lottchen'' (1993) * ''Die Partner'' (1995, TV series, 8 episodes) * ''Ich, der Boss'' (1995, TV film) * ' (1997) * ''Kidnapping Mom and Dad'' (1997, TV film) * ''

Knockin' on Heaven's Door "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, written for the soundtrack of the 1973 film '' Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid''. Released as a single two months after the film's premiere, it became a worldwide hit, ...

'' (1997) * ''Vergewaltigt – Das Geheimnis einer Nacht'' (1997, TV film) * ''Arielle, die Meerjungfrau'' (Disney), (German version) voice of Prinz Erik (1997) * ''Jack's Baby'' (1998, TV film) * ' (1998) * ' (2000, TV film) * ''Die Spur meiner Tochter'' (2000, TV film) * ''

Death Row Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting executio ...

'' (2001, TV film) * ''

666 – Traue keinem, mit dem du schläfst! ''666 – Traue keinem, mit dem du schläfst!'' () is a 2002 German film directed by Rainer Matsutani. It is very loosely based on a few elements from the 1808 play ''Faust'' by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Cast * Jan Josef Liefers: Frank Faust ...

'' (2002) * ''Die Frauenversteher – Männer unter sich'' (2002, TV film) * ' (2003, TV film) * ' (2005, TV film) * ''

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

'' (DreamWorks), (German version) voice of Alex (2005) * ''Die Entscheidung'' (2006, TV film) * ' (2006, TV film) * ' (2006, TV film) * '': '' (2006, TV series episode) * ' (2007) * ' (2007, TV film) * ''Lily C.'' (2007, TV film) * ''

The Baader Meinhof Complex ''The Baader Meinhof Complex'' ( ) is a 2008 German drama film directed by Uli Edel. Written and produced by Bernd Eichinger, it stars Moritz Bleibtreu, Martina Gedeck, and Johanna Wokalek. The film is based on the 1985 German best selling non- ...

'' (2008) * ''Madagascar 2'', (German version) voice of Alex (2008) * ' (2009, TV film) * ' (2010, TV film) * ''

Simon and the Oaks Simon and the Oaks ( Swedish: ''Simon och ekarna'') is a 1985 novel by Marianne Fredriksson. The book is set in Gothenburg predominantly during the 1940s and uses the persecution of Jewish people during World War II as a backdrop. The book wa ...

'' (2011) * ' (since 2012, TV series, 7 episodes) * ''

Men Do What They Can ''Men Do What They Can'' () is a 2012 German movie directed by Marc Rothemund. With 746,017 admissions it was the sixth most successful film in Germany in 2012. Cast *Wotan Wilke Möhring: Paul Schuberth * Jasmin Gerat: Iris Jasper * Jan Josef ...

'' (2012) * '' The Tower'' (2012, TV film) * ' (2012, TV film) * ' (2013, TV film) * '' Head Full of Honey'' (2014) * ''

Mara and the Firebringer ''Mara and the Firebringer'' is a 2015 German fantasy film. It is an adaptation of the first book in the trilogy of the same name by Tommy Krappweis, who also wrote the screenplay and directed it. The focus of the story is on Mara Lorbeer, a 15- ...

'' (2015) * ' (2015) * '' The Bloom of Yesterday'' (2016) * '' Vier gegen die Bank'' (2016) * ' (2017)

''Tatort'' – Professor Dr. Karl Friedrich Boerne

In the German television series ''Tatort'', Liefers plays Professor Dr. Karl Friedrich Boerne, the director of the Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensics at the

University of Münster The University of Münster (, until 2023 , WWU) is a public research university located in the city of Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. With more than 43,000 students and over 120 fields of study in 15 departments, it is Germany's ...

. The witty scientist loves his job and enjoys life to the fullest, often without considering the feelings of others. Karl-Friedrich Boerne loves the good things in life, plays golf, fences and is fond of classical music, especially if it's loud. But what he loves most are his luxury cars (Jaguar, Mercedes, Audi, Porsche, etc.), which he drives without worrying too much about wrecking them, and the sound of his own voice. Boerne's irony and intellect make him seem cynical and arrogant at times, but it's evident that there's a kind heart beating inside him. His wife left him and since then, Boerne lives alone in his big city apartment. The much smaller neighbouring apartment he lets to inspector Frank Thiel. The idiosyncratic, quirky forensic physician and the quiet, down-to-earth police officer share a close partnership both at work and closer to home.

''Tatort'' – Episodes

* 2002: Der dunkle Fleck * 2002: Fakten, Fakten * 2003: Dreimal schwarzer Kater * 2003: Sag nichts * 2004: Mörderspiele * 2004: Eine Leiche zuviel * 2005: Der Frauenflüsterer * 2005: Der doppelte Lott * 2006: Das ewig Böse * 2006: Das zweite Gesicht * 2007: Ruhe sanft * 2007: Satisfaktion * 2008: Krumme Hunde * 2008: Wolfsstunde * 2009: Höllenfahrt * 2009: Tempelräuber * 2010: Der Fluch der Mumie * 2010: Spargelzeit * 2011: Herrenabend * 2011: * 2012: Hinkebein * 2012: Das Wunder von Wolbeck * 2013: Summ, Summ, Summ * 2013: Die chinesische Prinzessin * 2014: Der Hammer * 2014: Mord ist die beste Medizin * 2015: Erkläre Chimäre * 2015: Schwanensee * 2016: Ein Fuß kommt selten allein * 2016: Feierstunde * 2017: Fangschuss * 2017: Gott Ist Auch Nur Ein Mensch * 2018: Schlangengrube * 2019: Spieglein, Spieglein * 2019: Lakritz * 2019: Väterchen Frost * 2020: Limbus * 2020: Es Lebe Der König * 2021: Rhythm And Love * 2022: Des Teufels langer Atem * 2022: Propheteus * 2022: Ein Freund, ein guter Freund * 2023: MagicMom

CDs

* Jack's Baby (1999) * Don't let go (2002) * Oblivion (2002) * Soundtrack meiner Kindheit (2007)

Audio books

* 2006: Fußball unser – Das Hörbuch * 2006: Brigitte Hörbuch-Edition – Starke Stimmen: Die Männer – Der Reinfall * 2008: Jan Josef Liefers liest den Tatort Fall `Der dunkle Fleck´ * 2009: Brigitte Hörbuch-Edition – Starke Stimmen: Die Krimis – Dr. Siri und seine Toten * 2009: Der Kleine Prinz: Das Hörbuch

Awards

* 1996:

, best newcomer in ''Rossini'' * 2000: Television prize of the

Deutsche Akademie der Darstellenden Künste The Deutsche Akademie der Darstellenden Künste (German Academy of the Performing Arts) is an academy founded in Hamburg in 1956, representing members from theatre, film, television and radio. Their activities and events are supported by foundations ...

, actor award for ''Halt mich fest'' * 2000:

Bayerischer Fernsehpreis The Bavarian TV Awards (German: Bayerischer Fernsehpreis) is an award presented by the government of Bavaria, Germany since 1989. The prize symbol is the "Blue Panther", a figure from the Nymphenburg Porcelain Manufactory. The prize money is €10, ...

for ''Jack's Baby'' * 2003:

Bambi ''Bambi'' is a 1942 American Animated film, animated Coming of age, coming-of-age drama film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. Loosely based on Felix Salten's 1923 novel ''Bambi, a Life in the Woods'', the ...

for ''A Light in Dark Places'' * 2004:

Adolf-Grimme-Preis The Grimme-Preis (Grimme Award), formerly known as the Adolf-Grimme-Preis, is one of the most prestigious German television awards. It is named after the first general director of Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk, Adolf Grimme. The Grimme Institute ...

for the best actor in ''A Light in Dark Places'' * 2011:

Guldbagge Award The Guldbagge Awards (, ) is an official and annual Sweden, Swedish film awards ceremony honoring achievements in the Swedish film industry. Winners are awarded a statuette depicting a Cetonia aurata, rose chafer, better known by the name Guldbagg ...

for the best supporting actor award for ''

References

External links

Official Fanpage (German)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Liefers, Jan Josef 1964 births Living people Male actors from Dresden German male stage actors German male film actors German male television actors 20th-century German male actors 21st-century German male actors Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts alumni Best Supporting Actor Guldbagge Award winners