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.
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| Photo courtesy of 20th Century Fox |
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’s book and director Brian Percival’s (“Downton Abbey”) 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.
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