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