Josh Gad is lining up one of the most intense and meaningful roles of his career. The actor has signed on to star in Gerron’s Last Film, a historical drama from BAFTA and Emmy-nominated director Simon Curtis, inspired by the devastating true story of Jewish actor and filmmaker Kurt Gerron.
The project brings Gad into dramatically heavier territory than many fans might expect, even as he continues balancing major studio work like Spaceballs 2 and voice roles in Zootopia 2. This time, he’ll step into the shoes of Gerron, one of the most famous Jewish entertainers in pre-Nazi Germany and the original performer of “Mack the Knife” from Brecht’s Threepenny Opera.
While contemporaries like Fritz Lang and Marlene Dietrich escaped Germany, Gerron stayed. That decision ultimately led him to the Theresienstadt Ghetto, where he and countless other artists were imprisoned.
Once there, Gerron was forced by camp commander Karl Rahm, who claimed to be an admirer of his work, to direct a propaganda film designed to present the camp as a pleasant, cultured community. With no way out, Gerron complied, using the production to give fellow prisoners brief moments of dignity and humanity. It would be the final film of his life.
“This is a film that will be universally spoken about and responded to,” said Gad. “These themes are more relevant today than they have been in decades,” he added.
“I got into this industry to make movies that are important, that can create conversations and I strongly know in my heart that this is one of those films. It’s imperative that we use the power we have as artists to tell stories that should be seen as warnings, that strike up conversations and this is an important story that ticks off everything on that checklist.”
Curtis, whose recent work includes Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale and Woman in Gold, was immediately drawn to the material and to Gad as its centerpiece.
“The outstanding script has attracted the perfect leading man in Josh Gad,” Curtis said. “I feel very passionately about telling Kurt Gerron’s remarkable story which offers so many exciting creative opportunities to a film maker. It demonstrates how vital the arts are in dark times and its themes are becoming more essential every day.”
The film is being produced by Talia Kleinhendler and Osnat Handelsman Keren of Pie Films, working from a script by Ehud Lavski and Alon Gur Arye.
“This film has been a passion project for us since the moment we read Ehud and Alon’s incredible script,” they shared. “We feel we have found the ideal director in Simon, who always creates emotionally powerful humanistic collective cinematic experiences, we are so grateful he is as passionate as we are about telling this story.
“Kurt Gerron was a master of so many talents – he was a stage performer, singer, actor and director. He was larger than life, and the infinitely talented Josh Gad is the perfect person to embody this complex nuanced role.”
Gerron’s Last Film sounds like it will be a haunting, conversation-starting piece of cinema that uses art to confront one of history’s darkest chapters.
