Elyas M'Barek, born on May 29th 1982 in Munich, Germany, is the son of a Tunisian programmer and an Austrian nurse. He is the oldest of three boys, both of his brothers having less trouble with their mixed heritage as they look unmistakably German/European, whereas Elyas got his northern African looks from his dad. Both his mother and father instilled a strong work-ethic in their children, his father not going the believed-to-be-typical route for an immigrant by always working and earning a good wage. He never taught his children Arabic, as he wanted them to speak German well and saw no point in making it harder on them. Instead, he learned German as fast as possible to act as a good role model for his three boys. Elyas wasn’t made for academics. He rebelled on several schools, being kicked out of more than one school in his teens. He made it to the Advanced Vocational Certificate of Education (Fachabitur) just so and then started University, only to drop out after a few months to pursue acting full-time.

He had been dabbling in it toward his late teens, though only grabbing minor background roles, usually depicting someone of Turkish background. When he was 23, he was cast in his first major role, playing 16 year old wanna-be trouble-maker Cem Öztürk (again, a Turkish guy) for German success TV Show Kebab for Beginners (Türkisch für Anfänger). The show was majorly successful, even spawning a massively successful major motion picture after its three-season run. And it helped put Elyas on the map, broadening the scope of job possibilities. He was a young heart-throb to watch. But it wasn’t until his turn as Zeki Müller in Suck Me Shakeaspeare that he became a German A-lister. The movie (and the two that followed it) became the best selling German movie trilogy of all time, surpassing everyone’s expectations and making Elyas into a bona fide cultural phenomenon with fan events that needed to be broken up by the police as teenage girls faced injury to catch one glimpse of their dream boy. For years, Elyas had to play the Turk, the immigrant, the problem child, due to his looks, even though he tried to steer clear of immigration politics as, for the most part, he does not feel they apply to him. 

He feels German - or Austrian or a mix of both. He never lived anywhere else, only speaks German and High-School-English, is punctual and organized, pays his taxes and loves Bavarian beer - the picture of the perfect German. And yet, he has faced problems, still does, all his life. His surname and looks making it nearly impossible for him to find apartment or being asked about his heritage more or less during every interview. Even now, as the highest-paid and regarded German actor, he was denied access to a “hip” and “exclusive” Berlin night-club in 2018, bouncers explaining “no foreigners, no one from Turkey or Arabs”. After someone else pointed out who Elyas was, they did open the door. But at this point, he made a point of never visiting the place again. For a long time, he tried to shove all that away, not answering questions aimed in that direction during interviews or glossing over them. But with the rise of the far-right movement, the AfD and similar political ideologies, combined with a more je ne sais quoi attitude to what some people might think about him, he has become more vocal. Making a clear statement against the AfD and like-minded individuals and also underlining, that he does not want to be the perfectly integrated immigrant. He doesn’t want to be Germany’s “Look, we are so good at integrating third world people”-person and he has become more ruthless about making that clear. Apart from the fact that he does not feel comfortable being the spokes-person for every other person who struggles with immigration (especially since these days, he is privileged and knows it, would never dream of comparing himself to those with real trouble), he simply doesn’t feel that way. He never had a strong interest in learning more about Tunisia, does not feel like his roots are there and has no plans to pursue that kind of connection. He goes to Tunisia to visit his dad (who moved back there once he entered pension-age in Germany) and to go on holiday, just like everyone else. He feels like Bavarian, first and foremost. And so his turns on the big screen are less and less comedic, even if comedy isn’t off the table for him, as is obvious by his continued work with writer/director Bora Dagtekin (who also wrote/directed Kebab for Beginners and Suck Me Shakespeare). But he wants to explore every genre, face the challenge each of them bring and, hopefully, master them all.