THAT UNADULTERATED KISS
RUDY WANTS IN “THE BOOK THIEF”
Meet Rudy (played by the
charming Nico Liersche) in the very endearing “The Book Thief,” every mom’s
ideal kind of friend to her very precious daughter.
The story and its characters
sprang from the imagination of author Markus Zusak whose novel The Book Thief
was published in his native Australia in 2005 and throughout the rest of the
world in 2006. The book has sold eight
million copies worldwide, held a place on The New York Times best-seller list
for almost seven years and has been translated into over 30 languages. Additionally, it has won over a dozen
literary awards, held the number-one position at Amazon.com, and appeared on
numerous best-of-the-year lists.
Zusak’sbook and director Brian
Percival’s (“DowntonAbbey”) film adaptation tell the story of Liesel (Sophie
Nélisse), who is sent to live with foster parents, the kind-hearted Hans
Hubermann (Geoffrey Rush) and his prickly wife Rosa (Emily Watson). Reeling from the tragic death of her younger
brother, Liesel is sent immediately to her new “parents” and struggles to fit
in – at home and at school, where her classmates taunt her as “dummkopf” due to
her inability to read.
With the single-minded obsession
of a budding scholar, Liesel is determined to change that. And she gets help. Her empathetic “Papa,”
Hans (played by Geoffrey Rush) works day and night with Liesel as she pores
over her first tome, “The Gravedigger’s Handbook,” which she walked off with
following her brother’s funeral – an impulsive act of thievery that will have
profound consequences for the young heroine.
Liesel’s love for reading and
her growing appreciation for her new family are heightened when she befriends a
new guest in the Hubermann’s home – a Jewish refugee named Max (Ben Schnetzer),
who shares her passion for books and encourages Liesel to expand her powers of
observation, even as he hides from the Nazis in a dark and dank basement. Equally transformative is her burgeoning
friendship with a young neighbor, Rudy who teases Liesel about her book
thievery even as he finds himself falling in love with her.
Rudy is a major transformative
figure in Liesel’s journey with her exponentially growing love of books and the
power beyond words. Liesel and Rudy
become fast friends and do everything together, including stealing
(“borrowing,” Liesel insists) books. In
fact, it is Rudy who nicknames Liesel, “The Book Thief.”
While Liesel’s passion is books,
Rudy dreams of being a champion racer.
His idol is African-American Olympic hero Jesse Owens, who achieved
international fame by winning four gold medals in the 1936 Olympics in
Berlin. Rudy even goes so far as to
cover himself with black paint (which he stole from Hans’ work cart), in honor
of his idol – a choice that’s none too popular with a town being consumed with
the doctrine of Aryan supremacy.
Young German actor Nico Liersch
describes Rudy as, “always happy, nice to everyone, and never sad,” and that
description fits also the actor who plays him.
Sophie and Nico became close friends during production – though Sophie
would squeal with laughter through almost every take while shooting scenes
where Rudy tries to kiss Liesel – much to the crew’s amusement.
Nico Liersch began his acting
career in TV commercials. Roles in
German television followed and, in 2012, he made his feature film debut in “Kokowääh2,”
appearing with Til Schweiger, who also directed, and Schweiger’s daughter Emma
Tiger Schweiger. It was Germany's biggest
movie that year at the box office. Liersch lives with his parents and sister in
Munich where he attends secondary school.
He enjoys playing handball and tennis, and snowboarding. He loves music and is learning to play the
drums.
Relive young love, first love in
“The Book Thief” when it opens February 19 in cinemas nationwide from 20th
Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.
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