Jan Josef Liefers: At the peak of narrow-mindedness

Of course, it would be unfair to Jan Josef Liefers (60) to reduce him to his role as Prof. Dr. Dr. Karl-Friedrich Boerne in the Münster “Tatort”. The artist, born on August 8, 1964 in Dresden, is a real all-rounder.

As an actor, he is considered one of the most accomplished comedians that German film and television has to offer. Despite his preference for ironically broken characters, he also masters serious roles, as he impressively demonstrated in the Grimme Prize-winning two-part television series “The Miracle of Lengede” (2003) and the film adaptation of Uwe Tellkamp’s (55) bestseller “The Tower” from 2012.

Like his wife Anna Loos (53), he is also a serious musician in addition to acting. While Loos replaced the singer Tamara Danz (1952-1996), who died early, in the band Silly for many years, Liefers has been touring regularly with his band Radio Doria (formerly Jan Josef Liefers & Oblivion) ​​since 2006. He also uses his distinctive voice extensively as a voice actor in American animated films and as a speaker in what is now over 30 radio plays and audio books.

In addition, Jan Josef Liefers is extremely socially and politically committed and is involved in many projects, often initiated by himself, for social justice, poverty reduction and the promotion of sporting activities for young people. In 2011 he was even awarded the Federal Cross of Merit for his outstanding commitment.

Prof. Dr. Dr. Karl-Friedrich Boerne – the role of his life

But whether Jan Josef Liefers likes it or not – Prof. Dr. Dr. Karl-Friedrich Boerne, whom he has played alongside Axel Prahl (64) for over 20 years, is probably the role of his life. The role of the snobbish forensic doctor has made him a favorite with the public. And over time he has worked his way into this bizarre character to perfection.

He wasn’t actually intended for the role. As the scriptwriting duo Stefan Cantz (68) and Jan Hinter (72), who developed the cast of characters in the Münster “Tatort” and a large part of the scripts, reported in an interview with the “Tagesspiegel”, the actor Ulrich Noethen (64) was originally asked to play the role. “But after he saw the first concepts, he turned it down,” said Cantz amusedly. “So the idea of ​​Jan Josef Liefers came up very quickly. The decision was only made shortly before production began.”

The real-life model of the professor

Jan Hinter added in the conversation that the idea for a Münster “crime scene” was a “political decision” at the time. “The Münster region in North Rhine-Westphalia was apparently to be given media coverage,” said the author. “And because a highly renowned forensic doctor works in Münster, the idea of ​​the figure of Professor Boerne was born, who was to be placed alongside the classic detective on an equal footing.”

This real-life role model was Prof. Bernd Brinkmann (85), who worked as director of the Münster Institute of Forensic Medicine between 1987 and 2007. He became more well-known not least because of his role as an expert witness in the sensational trial against weather presenter Jörg Kachelmann (66) in 2010 and 2011. In several interviews, Brinkmann vehemently asserted that he rarely watched the “Münster” crime scene despite the references to him. He told the “Westfälische Nachrichten” about the character of Prof. Dr. Dr. Boerne: “He doesn’t look like me at all.”

Legendary Boerne outfit as camouflage

From the beginning, Jan Josef Liefers also made it a point to give his comedic character as little resemblance to his real self as possible. He developed the now legendary appearance of the self-absorbed forensic doctor himself, consisting of impeccable suits, stuffy 1950s glasses and a distinctive Henriquatre beard. According to “Tag24”, he said in the TV talk show “Riverboat”: “I also like playing other roles and I thought: ‘You have to be careful not to get completely confused'”. After all, even the most unpopular “Tatort” is still watched millions of times. “I thought up the beard and the glasses, the suit and the tie because I’m hardly ever seen like that in private,” said the actor.

He revealed to the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung” that he even got married in 2004 with his Boerne beard because the wedding to Anna Loos took place during the filming of the Münster “Tatort”. His plan to avoid being recognized by “Tatort” fans in public without the Boerne costume initially worked. However, since he has appeared more often in TV shows with his private look, this effect has evaporated. “Today, people even recognize me in the swimming pool or on the beach with wet hair and swimming trunks,” says Liefers. “People are no longer fooled by the absence of a beard. It has even happened to me that I was caught speeding and was sent five copies of the photo as evidence – with a request for an autograph. But I still had to pay.”

Boerne is not Liefers

In an interview with “Focus” he stressed that he was very happy to be able to play “many, different other roles” in addition to Boerne, with which he was also successful. Because: “The fear of actors being tied to a single character is not entirely unfounded.” Prof. Dr. Dr. Boerne is a real pain in the neck, whom the audience loves, but “in real life you don’t want someone like that as your boss. It’ll drive you crazy.”

He described his most famous role with the following words: “He’s a guy who’s really out of touch with the times, wealthy, a snob, a bon vivant, an arrogant guy, cultured, with manners, mostly clever, but often stupid. He’s quick-witted and one moment later he’s on an endless line, verbally a sharpshooter, but emotionally a third-grader, a Wagnerian, politically incorrect and technically brilliant.” Such a polarizing character would probably be reworked in scripts today until no one could feel offended. “I think it’s great that he exists,” says Jan Josef Liefers. “It’s a pleasure to play him, but he has little to do with me personally.”