Klaus Kinski
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Klaus Kinski (German: [klaʊs ˈkɪnski]; born Klaus Günter Karl Nakszynski 18 October 1926 – 23 November 1991) was a German actor. Equally renowned for his intense performance style and his notoriously eccentric and volatile personality off-screen, he appeared in over 130 film roles in a career that spanned 40 years, from 1948 to 1988. He is best known for starring in five films directed by Werner Herzog from 1972 to 1987 (Aguirre, the Wrath of God; Nosferatu the Vampyre; Woyzeck; Fitzcarraldo; and Cobra Verde), who would later chronicle their tumultuous relationship in the documentary My Best Fiend. Kinski's roles spanned multiple genres, languages, and nationalities, including Spaghetti Westerns, horror films, war films, dramas, and Edgar Wallace krimi films. His infamy was elevated by a number of eccentric creative endeavors, including a one-man show based on the life of Jesus Christ, a biopic of violinist Niccolò Paganini directed by and starring himself, and over twenty spoken word albums. Kinski was prone to emotional and often violent outbursts aimed at his directors and fellow cast members, issues complicated by a history of mental illness. Herzog described him as "one of the greatest actors of the century, but also a monster and a great pestilence." Posthumously, he was accused of having physically and sexually abused his daughters Pola and Nastassja. His notoriety and prolific output have developed into a widespread cult following and a reputation as a popular icon. Description above from the Wikipedia article Klaus Kinski, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known for
Credits
Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972)
as Don Lope de Aguirre
For a Few Dollars More (1965)
as Juan Wild - The Hunchback
Beloved Count (2007)
as Renfield (archive footage)
Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979)
as Count Dracula
Doctor Zhivago (1965)
as Kostoyed Amourski
Last of the Renegades (1964)
as David "Luke" Lucas
My Best Fiend (1999)
as Self (archive footage)
Love & Money (1981)
as Frederic Stockheinz
FantastiCozzi (2016)
as Nosferatu (archive footage)
Fitzcarraldo (1982)
as Fitzcarraldo
Nosferatu in Venice (1988)
as Nosferatu
Cobra Verde (1987)
as Francisco Manoel da Silva aka Cobra Verde
White Hunter (1990)
as Klaus Naginsky
The Great Silence (1968)
as Tigrero
Marquis de Sade: Justine (1969)
as Marquis De Sade
Adios Compañeros (1971)
as Reverend Cotton
A Genius, Two Friends, and an Idiot (1975)
as Doc Foster
Fruits of Passion (1981)
as Sir Stephen
Fifty Shades of Erotica (2015)
as (archive footage)
Crawlspace (1986)
as Karl Gunther
Die Mondvögel (1963)
as Valentin
Venom (1981)
as Jacques Müller (Jacmel)
The Pleasure Girls (1965)
as Nikko Stalmar
Count Dracula (1970)
as Renfield
Heroes in Hell (1974)
as Gen. Kaufmann
Five Golden Dragons (1967)
as Gert
Haine (1980)
as Le motard
Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films (2014)
as Self - Actor (archive footage) (uncredited)
Filming Silenzio (2017)
as (archive footage)
Slaughter Hotel (1971)
as Dr. Francis Clay
Death of a Corrupt Man (1977)
as Nicolas Tomski
Man, Pride and Vengeance (1967)
as Lt. Miguel Garcia
That Most Important Thing: Love (1975)
as Karl-Heinz Zimmer
His Name Was King (1971)
as Brian Foster
Decision Before Dawn (1951)
as Whining Soldier (uncredited)
The Little Drummer Girl (1984)
as Martin Kurtz
Coplan Saves His Skin (1968)
as Theler
The Soldier (1982)
as Dracha
Madame Claude (1977)
as Alexander Zakis
The Spaghetti West (2005)
as Self (archive footage)
Buddy Buddy (1981)
as Dr. Hugo Zuckerbrot
The Door with Seven Locks (1962)
as Pheeny
And God Said to Cain (1970)
as Gary Hamilton
I Am Sartana Your Angel of Death (1969)
as Chadeau / Holden / Hot Dead
The Making of 'Nosferatu' (1979)
as Self
Jack the Ripper (1976)
as Dr. Dennis Orloff / Jack the Ripper
A Bullet for the General (1967)
as El Santo
If You Meet Sartana Pray for Your Death (1968)
as Morgan
A Time to Love and a Time to Die (1958)
as Gestapo Lieutenant
Again the Ringer (1965)
as Edwards
Al borde del abismo: la aventura peruana de Werner Herzog (2026)
Actor
Whiteface (2002)
as (archive footage)
Creature (1985)
as Hans Rudy Hofner
Golden Night (1976)
as Michel Fournier
The Million Eyes of Sumuru (1967)
as President Boong
Code Name: Wild Geese (1984)
as Charleton
Return of Shanghai Joe (1975)
as Pat Barnes
The Counterfeit Traitor (1962)
as Kindler
Woyzeck (1979)
as Friedrich Johann Franz Woyzeck
Othelo The Great (2024)
as Self (archive footage)
Star Knight (1985)
as Boetius
The Child Woman (1980)
as Marcel
Dead Eyes of London (1961)
as Edgar Strauss
Timestalkers (1987)
as Dr. Joseph Cole
Death Smiles on a Murderer (1973)
as Dr. Sturges
How Did a Nice Girl Like You Get Into This Business? (1970)
as Juan José Ignatio Rodriguez de Calderon / 'Sam'
Our Man in Marrakesh (1966)
as Jonquil
The Indian Scarf (1963)
as Peter Ross
The Secret of the Red Orchid (1962)
as Steve
Paganini (1990)
as Niccolo Paganini
Five for Hell (1969)
as SS Col. Hans Mueller
Shoot the Living and Pray for the Dead (1971)
as Dan Hogan
The Devil's Daffodil (1961)
as Peter Keene
Django & Django: Sergio Corbucci Unchained (2021)
as Self - Actor (archive footage)
Footprints on the Moon (1975)
as Professor Blackmann
Churchill's Leopards (1970)
as Captain Holtz
The Inn on the River (1962)
as Gregor Gubanow
Fear (1954)
as Cabaret Performer (uncredited)
Portrait: Werner Herzog (1986)
as Self (archive footage)
Salt in the Wound (1969)
as Cpl. Brian Haskins / Norman Carr
Eye of the Spider (1971)
as Hans Fischer
Diary (1983)
as (archive footage)
Scotland Yard Hunts Dr. Mabuse (1963)
as Inspector Joe Wright
Commando Leopard (1985)
as Silveira
Coffin Full of Dollars (1971)
as Dan Hagen / Slander
Schizoid (1980)
as Dr. Pieter Fales
Please Kill Mr. Kinski (1999)
as Self (archive footage)
The Strange Countess (1961)
as Bresset
That Man in Istanbul (1965)
as Schenck
Only the Cool (1970)
as Pavel Richko / Torpédo I
AGFA Mystery Mixtape #2: Later in L.A. (2020)
as (archive footage)
Lover of the Monster (1974)
as Dr. Alex Nijinski
The Dirty Game (1965)
as Russian Agent
The Fighting Fist of Shanghai Joe (1973)
as Scalper Jack
Burden of Dreams (1982)
as Self - Actor
The Curse of the Hidden Vault (1964)
as George
Venus in Furs (1969)
as Ahmed Kortobawi
Circus of Fear (1966)
as Manfred
Android (1982)
as Dr. Daniel
Black Killer (1971)
as James Webb / Black Killer
Grand Slam (1967)
as Erich Weiss
Vengeance Is a Dish Served Cold (1971)
as Virgil Prescott
In Free Fall (2010)
as Self (archive footage)
A Noose Is Waiting for You Trinity (1972)
as Scott
Traitor's Gate (1964)
as Kane
The Song of Roland (1978)
as Roland / Klaus
The Ruthless Four (1968)
as Brent il Biondo
Jesus Christ Saviour (2008)
as Self
Kinski rigando Paganini (2003)
as Self
Alain Delon, l'ombre au tableau (2019)
as Self (archive footage)
Beauty and the Beast (1984)
as Beast
The AGFA Mystery Mixtape Vault (2020)
as (archive footage)
Twice a Judas (1968)
as Dingus
Web of the Spider (1971)
as Edgar Allan Poe
The Hand That Feeds the Dead (1974)
as Prof. Nijinski
Kali-Yug, Goddess of Vengeance (1963)
as Saddhu
Zoo zéro (1979)
as Yavé, le directeur du zoo
Double Face (1969)
as John Alexander
Gangster's Law (1969)
as Quintero
Where Are You Taking That Woman (1966)
as Gomez (Rio segment)
The Secret of the Black Widow (1963)
as Boyd
The Black Abbot (1963)
as Thomas Fortuna
Mark of the Tortoise (1964)
as Shapiro
The Secret Diary of Sigmund Freud (1984)
as Dr. Max Bauer
The Price of Death (1971)
as Chester Conway / Ray
Target for Killing (1966)
as Caporetti
The Bloody Hands of the Law (1973)
as Vito Quattroni
The Last Ride to Santa Cruz (1964)
as Jose
Sarajevo (1955)
as Nedeljko Čabrinović
Operation Thunderbolt (1977)
as Wilfried Boese
Secret of the Chinese Carnation (1964)
as Speranzo
Ludwig II (1955)
as Prince Otto von Bayern
Western, Italian Style (1968)
as Self
Nosferatu: A Film Like a Vampire (2022)
as Self (archive footage)
The Night of the Assassin (1970)
as Evagoras
Dracula: A Cinematic Scrapbook (1991)
as Renfield (archive footage)
Psychopath (1968)
as Periwinkle
Creature with the Blue Hand (1967)
as Dave Emerson / Richard Emerson
Gegen das Schweigen - Machtmissbrauch bei Theater und Film (2024)
as Self (archive footage)
The Squeaker (1963)
as Krishna
Children, Mother, and the General (1955)
as Leutnant, der nicht mehr lacht
The Mystery of the Indian Temple (1963)
Actor
The Western World of Ferdinando Baldi (2005)
as Self (archive footage)
I Am My Films: A Portrait of Werner Herzog (1979)
as Voice
The Beast (1970)
as Johnny Laster
Hannelore Elsner: More Than One Life (2021)
as Self (archive footage)
The Net (1975)
as Emilio Bossi
Corinna Darling (1956)
as Klaus Brockmann
Waldwinter (1956)
as Otto Hartwig
Bankraub in der Rue Latour (1961)
as Bex, Autor
Revenge of the Stolen Stars (1986)
as Donald McBride
Morituri (1948)
as Dutch prisoner
Location Africa (1987)
as Self
The Vatican Affair (1968)
as Clint Rogers
Lifespan (1975)
as Nicholas Ulrich
The Bastard (1968)
as Adam
Klaus Kinski: I'm not an actor (2000)
as Self (archive footage)
The Avenger (1960)
as Lorenz Voss
Piccadilly Zero Hour 12 (1963)
as Whitey
The Extravagant Little Life of Jean-Claude D. Dreyfus (2021)
as Self (archive footage)
Hanussen (1955)
as Erik von Spazier / Mirko
The Red Pastures (1962)
as Martin
Peter Baumgartner, Filmkameramann (2014)
as (archive footage)
The Black Cobra (1963)
as Koks-Charley
Die Kurve (1961)
as Anton