There’s something a little different about two of my favorite actors. In their worst performances (of which there are MANY) they are easily dismissed as hacks. But they have both starred in some of the best movies ever, not to mention some of the most re-watchable and outrageous cult classics ever filmed.<\/p>\n
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Before his death in 1991, Klaus Kinski acted in over 135 films. His complete filmography is famously approximate, because he simply didn’t care about most of the movies he was in. To me, there’s something refreshingly utilitarian about the idea of being a celebrity that treats a role like any old job. But I don’t think there was anything particularly humble about him in reality (all you have to do to get your mind thoroughly blown is read his “autobiography,” Kinski Uncut<\/em>, a masterpiece of lunatic hubris).
\nKinski is most famous for his starring roles in Aguerre: The Wrath of God<\/em>, Nosferatu<\/em>, Fitzcarraldo<\/em>, and some lesser known movies made in the 70’s and 80’s with director Werner Herzog.\u00a0 Herzog made a fantastic documentary about Kinski in 1999 called My Best Fiend<\/em>, chronicling their work together over the years. Anyone who’s ever tried to collaborate with eccentrics (*ahem*) can sympathize with how hard it must have been to get even one film made with Kinski. Here they are on the set of Fitzcarraldo<\/em>, in the Amazon, surrounded by indigenous nonactors, watching the shit hit the fan:
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