Werner Herzog

Werner Herzog (; né Stipetić; born 5 September 1942) is a German filmmaker, actor, opera director, and author. Regarded as a pioneer of New German Cinema, his films often feature ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with unusual talents in obscure fields, or individuals in conflict with nature. His style involves avoiding storyboards, emphasizing improvisation, and placing his cast and crew into real situations mirroring those in the film on which they are working.

In 1961, when Herzog was 19, he started work on his first film, ''Herakles''. He is known for his collaborations with the actor Klaus Kinski, whom he directed in the films ''Aguirre, the Wrath of God'' (1972), ''Nosferatu the Vampyre'', ''Woyzeck'' (both 1979), ''Fitzcarraldo'' (1982) and ''Cobra Verde'' (1987) and chronicled their tumultuous relationship in the documentary film ''My Best Fiend'' (1999). Other films he has directed include ''The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser'' (1974), ''Heart of Glass'' (1976), ''Stroszek'' (1977), ''Invincible'' (2001), and ''Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans'' (2009) as well as the documentary films ''Lessons of Darkness'' (1992), ''Little Dieter Needs to Fly'' (1997), ''Grizzly Man'' (2005), ''Encounters at the End of the World'' (2007), ''Cave of Forgotten Dreams'' (2010), and ''Into the Abyss'' (2011).

Herzog has also published over 12 books of prose, including the autobiography ''Every Man for Himself and God Against All: A Memoir'' (2022) and directed over two dozen operas. He has acted in a number of films and television series, often as a fictionalised version of himself, including ''Incident at Loch Ness'' (2004), ''The Boondocks'' (2010), ''The Simpsons'' (2011-2021), ''Jack Reacher'', ''American Dad!'', ''Metalocalypse'' (all 2012), the English dub of ''The Wind Rises'' (2013), ''Penguins of Madagascar'' (2014), ''Parks and Recreation'', ''Rick and Morty'' (both 2015) and ''The Mandalorian'' (2019).

French filmmaker François Truffaut once called Herzog "the most important film director alive". American film critic Roger Ebert said that Herzog "has never created a single film that is compromised, shameful, made for pragmatic reasons, or uninteresting. Even his failures are spectacular". Herzog and his films have received recognition from the Berlin International Film Festival, Cannes Film Festival, Directors Guild of America, Sundance Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival and Venice Film Festival, as well as nominations for an Academy Award, a BAFTA, and an Emmy. He was named one of the world's 100 most influential people by ''Time'' in 2009. Provided by Wikipedia