Bobby’s big screen break

Bobby van Jaarsveld, star of Liefling, the first Afrikaans musical to hit the big screen in 30 years, found inspiration in the music of South African icon Ge Korsten and guidance from established actress Lika Berning.

Speaking to SA Promo, Van Jaarsveld who plays the role of Jan Ferreira, said it was a daunting task to make the transition from stage singer to movie star for Liefling. But because he grew up with Ge Korsten’s interpretations of the Liefling songs he knew what he was up against, while the experienced Berning, who plays Liefling Botha, assisted him every step of the way. “Lika is an experienced actress and knew very well that I had almost no acting experience. So she went out of her way to make it easy for me. She helped me from the first day on set.”

To play the lead male role of Jan, the civil engineering student who lost his parents when he was six and falls in love with Liefling, was a great honour for Van Jaarsveld. “I’ve always wondered what it would be like to be in a movie. Then this opportunity came my way so unexpectedly. It was just magnificent.”

But van Jaarsveld’s experience as singer and performer did assist him to get into his role. He is, after all, one of South Africa’s youngest and most popular artists who released a brand new CD at the end of last year. His hit song Spieëltjie was an instant success. He was also voted the most popular artist on DKNT on kykNET last year and won a South African Music Award (SAMA) for best Afrikaans Pop album this year. Playing the role of a student who loves to play guitar when he is alone fitted him like a glove.

Apart from having known the songs from the 1970s made famous by Ge Korsten, Van Jaarsveld also likes the fresh and modern songs in the musical. In fact, his favourite song from the movie is the song sung by Lika at the end of the movie, Fabels en Verhale, written and previously performed by Steve Hofmeyer. 

Van Jaarsveld has only one reservation about the making of the musical, and it’s one he can be forgiven for. While he so desperately wanted to visit Switzerland, where some parts of the movie was shot, his character never appears in any of the Switzerland scenes and he was left behind in South Africa. “I was a but gutted because I so wanted to experience Switzerland, but maybe one day I’ll get my chance.”

He certainly got his chance in Liefling, and boy, did he grab it!