Jan Josef Liefers (born 8 August 1964) is a German actor, producer, director and musician.
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Life
Liefers was born in Dresden, 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. From 1987 until 1990 he acted at the Deutsches Theater Berlin; after this he moved to the Thalia Theater in Hamburg. His first role in cinema was Alexander von Humboldt in the East German film Die Besteigung des Chimborazo.
Following that, Liefers appeared in some minor film roles; however, in 1996 he achieved his breakthrough with the Helmut Dietl film Rossini. He received the Bayerischer Filmpreis 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 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 in 2004. Previously he had been married to Alexandra Tabakova, a Russian actress.
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 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.
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: Bayerischer Filmpreis, best newcomer in Rossini
2000: Television prize of the Deutsche Akademie der Darstellenden Künste, actor award for Halt mich fest
2000: Bayerischer Fernsehpreis for Jack's Baby
2003: Bambi for A Light in Dark Places
2004: Adolf-Grimme-Preis for the best actor in A Light in Dark Places
2011: Guldbagge Award for the best supporting actor award for Simon and the Oaks