Jan Josef Liefers and Elyas M’Barek
Acting duo surprises with a blatant change in type
© imago/APP Photo
What motivated Jan Josef Liefers and Elyas M’Barek to do this makeover that took some getting used to? An “old white man” is to blame.
One smiles into the camera with blonde highlights and a bathrobe. The other wears eye-catching glasses and an even more eye-catching mustache, popularly denigrated as a “porn bar”. Did the actors Elyas M’Barek (41) and Jan Josef Liefers (59) spontaneously decide to change their type while on vacation together? A snapshot of the beach, the delivery on his Instagram account posted, suggests this at first glance.
Liefers already provides the first clues about the background to the photo with the hashtags: “Normal filming day” and “The dark side of the job”. The resolution: The duo is currently in the middle of filming Simon Verhoeven’s (51) new film “Old White Man”.
Behind the scenes footage from M’Barek
In his Instagram stories Meanwhile, M’Barek delivers humorous “behind the scenes” impressions from the set and is affectionately referred to by the director as a “fucked up ex-boy band member” due to his bleached mane. Jan Josef Liefers’ “new” look doesn’t come across much better in the clips either.
Filming for the comedy has been going on for about a month now. Liefers takes on the role of Heinz Hellmich, who, at least visually, is the epitome of the titular term “old white man” – but according to director Verhoeven, he doesn’t want to be one and therefore tries to appear “desperately modern”.
He described the film in an interview with the “Bild” newspaper therefore recently as a “dance on this minefield of political correctness” that juggles with “exaggerated clichés of our time”. “Old White Man” is scheduled to hit theaters on October 31st this year.