The actor, director and musician Jan Josef Liefers was born in Dresden. Following an apprenticeship as a carpenter at the Semper Opera in Dresden, he studied at the Ernst Busch University for Dramatic Arts in Berlin from 1983 to 1987. After a three-year engagement at the Deutsches Theater and the Kammerspiele in Berlin, Liefers accepted a contract at the Thalia Theater in Hamburg in 1990. Here, he appeared in stage productions by Jürgen Flimm, Robert Wilson, Werner Schroeter, etc.
In 1989, Liefers made his film debut: under director Rainer Simon; he played the explorer and discoverer Alexander von Humboldt in the historical adventure drama “Climbing the Chimborazo.” Jan Josef Liefers became known in the mid-90s through his role in the television series “The Partners.” He experienced his breakthrough, however, in 1997 with his successful appearances as Rudi Wurlitzer in "Knocking on Heaven's Door" (Director: Thomas Jahn) and as lyricist Bodo Kreignitz in Helmut Dietl’s media satire "Rossini." For this role, he was honored at the Bavarian Film Awards as the Best New Talent.
Since 2002, he plays the cynical forensic medical expert, Prof. Karl-Friedrich Boerne alongside Axel Prahl in the Munster crime show “Tatort.” Jan Josef Liefers has long established a name for himself as a character actor and also enthuses an audience of millions with films that he directs. The best proof of this are the further numerous awards that he has received, like the Adolf Grimme Award and the BAMBI for his role in Kaspar Heidelbach’s film "Das Wunder von Lengede" (The Miracle of Lengede) and the Bavarian Television Award for "Jack´s Baby." In addition, the film "Die Nachrichten" (The News), with Jan Josef Liefers in the title role, was honored with the Adolf Grimme Prize in the category Teleplay/TV Movies. Last year, his roles included that of Peter Homann in the sensational movie "Der Baader Meinhof Komplex" (The Baader Meinhof Complex).
In this year, Jan Josef Liefers again appeared in two new Munster Tatort shows: "Tempelräuber" (Temple Raider) directed by Matthias Tiefenbacher (broadcast date Oct. 25, 2009) and "Der Fluch der Mumie" (The Curse of the Mummy) directed by Kaspar Heidelbach. Furthermore, Jan Josef Liefers wrote his first book about his growing up in the GDR, which will be published in mid-October, titled "Soundtrack meiner Kindheit" (Soundtrack of my Childhood). With a show carrying this same title, he will do another major tour throughout Germany with his band Oblivion starting on November 19th.
