Klaus Maria Brandauer (; born Klaus Georg Steng; 22 June, 1943) is an Austrian actor and director. He is also a professor at the Max Reinhardt Seminar. Brandauer is known internationally for his roles in '' Mephisto'' (1981), ''

Never Say Never Again ''Never Say Never Again'' is a 1983 spy film directed by Irvin Kershner. The film is based on the 1961 James Bond novel ''Thunderball (novel), Thunderball'' by Ian Fleming, which in turn was based on an original story by Kevin McClory, Jack Wh ...

'' (1983), '' Hanussen'' (1988), '' Burning Secret'' (1988), '' The Russia House'' (1990), and '' White Fang'' (1991). For his supporting role as Bror von Blixen-Finecke in '' Out of Africa'' (1985), he was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

and won a

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...

. Brandauer has a working knowledge of and has acted in at least five languages including German, Italian, Hungarian, English and French.

Personal life

Brandauer was born as Klaus Georg Steng in

Bad Aussee Bad Aussee (; Central Bavarian: ''Bod Ossee'') is a town in the Austrian state of Styria, located at the confluence of the three sources of the Traun River in the Ausseerland region. Bad Aussee serves as the economic and cultural center of the St ...

, Austria (then part of the

German Reich German ''Reich'' (, from ) was the constitutional name for the German nation state that existed from 1871 to 1945. The ''Reich'' became understood as deriving its authority and sovereignty entirely from a continuing unitary German ''Volk'' ("na ...

). He is the son of Maria Brandauer and Georg Steng (or Stenj), a civil servant. He subsequently took his mother's name as part of his professional name, Klaus Maria Brandauer. His first wife was Karin Katharina Müller (14 October 1945 – 13 November 1992), an Austrian film and television director and screenwriter, from 1963 until her death in 1992, aged 47, from cancer. Both were teenagers when they married, in 1963. They had one son, Christian. Brandauer married Natalie Krenn in 2007.

Career

Brandauer began acting on stage in 1962. After working in national theatre and television, he made his film debut in English in 1972, in '' The Salzburg Connection''. In 1975 he played in ''

Derrick A derrick is a lifting device composed at minimum of one guyed mast, as in a gin pole, which may be articulated over a load by adjusting its Guy-wire, guys. Most derricks have at least two components, either a guyed mast or self-supporting tower ...

'' – in Season 2, Episode 8 called "Pfandhaus". His starring and award-winning role in

István Szabó István Szabó (; born 18 February 1938) is a Hungarian film director, screenwriter, and opera director. Szabó is one of the most notable Hungary, Hungarian filmmakers and one who has been best known outside the Hungarian language, Hungarian- ...

's '' Mephisto'' (1981) playing a self-absorbed actor, launched his international career. (He would later act in Szabó's 1985 '' Oberst Redl''.) Following his role in ''Mephisto'', Brandauer appeared as Maximillian Largo in ''

'' (1983), a remake of the 1965 James Bond film '' Thunderball''.

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

said of his performance: "For one thing, there's more of a human element in the movie, and it comes from Klaus Maria Brandauer, as Largo. Brandauer is a wonderful actor, and he chooses not to play the villain as a cliché. Instead, he brings a certain poignancy and charm to Largo, and since Connery always has been a particularly human James Bond, the emotional stakes are more convincing this time." He starred in '' Out of Africa'' (1985), opposite Meryl Streep and

Robert Redford Charles Robert Redford Jr. (born August 18, 1936) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has received numerous accolades such as an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and two Golden Globe Awards, as well as the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1994, the ...

. Brandauer was nominated for an

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

and won a

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...

for the performance. In 1987, he was the Head of the Jury at the 37th Berlin International Film Festival. In 1988 he appeared in '' Hanussen'' opposite Erland Josephson and Ildikó Bánsági. Brandauer was originally cast as Marko Ramius in '' The Hunt for Red October''. That role eventually went to

Sean Connery Sir Thomas Sean Connery (25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to Portrayal of James Bond in film, portray the fictional British secret agent James Bond (literary character), James Bond in motion pic ...

, who played

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

to Brandauer's Largo in ''Never Say Never Again''. He co-starred with Connery again in '' The Russia House'' (1990). His other film roles have been in '' The Lightship'' (1986), ''

Streets of Gold ''Streets of Gold'' is the third studio album by American electronic music duo 3OH!3. It was released on June 29, 2010 in the United States and July 19, 2010 in the United Kingdom. The album debuted at number seven on the US ''Billboard'' 200, ...

'' (1986), '' Burning Secret'' (1988), '' White Fang'' (1991), '' Becoming Colette'' (1991), '' Introducing Dorothy Dandridge'' (1999, as director

Otto Preminger Otto Ludwig Preminger ( ; ; 5 December 1905 – 23 April 1986) was an Austrian Americans, Austrian-American film and theatre director, film producer, and actor. He directed more than 35 feature films in a five-decade career after leaving the the ...

), and '' Everyman's Feast'' (2002). In 1989 he participated in

TF1 TF1 (; standing for ''Télévision Française 1'') is a French commercial television network owned by TF1 Group, controlled by the Bouygues conglomerate. TF1's average market share of 24% makes it the most popular domestic network. TF1 is part ...

's two-part historical film '' La Révolution française'', playing the role of Georges Danton. He has also appeared as King Nebuchadnezzar II in 1998, in Time Life's

Jeremiah Jeremiah ( – ), also called Jeremias, was one of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish tradition, Jeremiah authored the Book of Jeremiah, book that bears his name, the Books of Kings, and the Book of Lamentations, with t ...

, from The Bible Collection: The Old Testament. Brandauer has directed two films: ' (1989), in which he starred as attempted

Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

assassin Georg Elser; and '' Mario and the Magician'' (1994), based on the 1929 novella by Thomas Mann, in which he starred as Cipolla, a magician with hypnotic powers. In August 2006, Brandauer's much-awaited production of ''

The Threepenny Opera ''The Threepenny Opera'' ( ) is a 1928 German "play with music" by Bertolt Brecht, adapted from a translation by Elisabeth Hauptmann of John Gay's 18th-century English ballad opera, '' The Beggar's Opera'', and four ballads by François V ...

'' gained a mixed reception. Brandauer had resisted questions about how his production of

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known as Bertolt Brecht and Bert Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...

and

Kurt Weill Kurt Julian Weill (; ; March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for hi ...

's classic musical comedy about the criminal MacHeath would differ from earlier versions, and his production featured Mack the Knife in a three-piece suit and white gloves, stuck to Brecht's text, and avoided any references to contemporary politics or issues.

Filmography

Awards

* 1982: BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles – '' Mephisto'' (nominated) * 1985: Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor – '' Out of Africa'' (won) * 1985:

National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor The National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor is one of the annual film awards given (since 1954) by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures is a non-profit organizatio ...

– '' Out of Africa'' (won) * 1985: NYFCC Award for Best Supporting Actor – '' Out of Africa'' (won) * 1986: Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture – '' Out of Africa'' (won) * 1986:

Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It has been awarded since the 9th Academy Awards to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in ...

– '' Out of Africa'' (nominated) * 1987: BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role – '' Out of Africa'' (nominated) * 1988: European Film Award for Best Actor – '' Hanussen'' (nominated) * 1988: Golden Ciak for Best Actor – '' Hanussen'' (won) * 1989: Bavarian Film Awards for Best Actor – '' Burning Secret'' (won)
* 1995: 19th Moscow International Film Festival, Andrei Tarkovsky Award for '' Mario and the Magician'' (won) * 1995: Golden St. George for '' Mario and the Magician'' (nominated) * 2000: Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film – '' Introducing Dorothy Dandridge'' (nominated) * 2000: Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie – '' Introducing Dorothy Dandridge'' (nominated)

References

External links