Dr. Krebs is a well-respected clinician and a good internist, according to Dr. Geer. “His skills as an internist make him fit into this role very well,” says Dr. Geer. “He takes very good care of his patients.”
Overlapping Worlds
Dr. Krebs says his medical colleagues get a kick out of his acting career. “Many of their children own the “3 Ninjas” movie. They tell me they have spotted me in the film while watching it with their kids,” he says.
Actors are surprised when they find out about his medical career. Although Dr. Krebs doesn’t volunteer the information that he’s a physician, he’ll tell others in the film industry when asked. “I want to keep my two worlds separate, but I am proud of who I am and what I do as a physician.”
Sometimes those two worlds overlap. When Dr. Krebs was cast in “True Vinyl,” “The casting director asked me what I did in my off hours and, when I said I was a physician, he said, ‘OK, so you’re the doctor in the film.’ ”
For that movie, Dr. Krebs also served as the medical consultant, ensuring the medical scenes were accurate.
Even though he enjoyed the experience, Dr. Krebs doesn’t want to pursue more medical consultant opportunities; acting is his passion. “When I’m on the set, I’m an actor and that’s what I want to be,” he says.
Can Do
It takes a focused, high-energy person to succeed as a physician and an actor. Dr. Krebs keeps his stamina high by making his health a priority. He exercises almost every day, eats right, and surrounds himself with positive people. “I have always been a high-energy person; I’m never depressed and always look at the positive side of any situation,” he says.
He credits his parents with instilling in him an optimistic view of life. “They told us we could be anybody and do anything we wanted,” he recalls. “When I was told that I couldn’t compete at a high level in figure skating and go to medical school, I thought, ‘My parents said I could do anything I wanted and I want to do this,’ so I did.”
It may have been his figure-skating background that gave Dr. Krebs the fearlessness required of a successful actor, according to his manager, Fritz Friedman.
“He’s willing to take chances,” notes Friedman. “It’s a fearsome thing to take those leaps in skating that seem so effortless. The risk he takes, as all actors do, is that he will look foolish. But actors don’t care. They try and hope their bodies will listen to their brains.”
Friedman says Dr. Krebs’ acting style is dramatic and intense: “I think he has capabilities of comedic roles but they haven’t been offered to him yet,” he says. “I think, given the right opportunity, he’d be terrific at that. Jeff has a very strong on-screen presence. When he’s on screen, people focus on him. He’s charismatic.”
And That’s Not All He Does …
In his free time, Dr. Krebs loves to cook, travel, and take photographs. He entertains his friends with a meal made from scratch at least once a month and has hired chefs from local restaurants to teach him advanced cooking techniques. In October, he’s going to Tuscany to indulge all three passions with Italian culinary classes, travel, and photography.
With two careers and many interests, Dr. Krebs sometimes finds it hard to get enough sleep. Although he would like to take singing lessons and French classes, that’s more than he can handle right now. “Sleep has to be a priority so I can continue to make good medical decisions,” he says. And he admits that getting his laundry done “is one of my biggest challenges in life.”