Trivia

He was diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder.

Used to act on stage in one-man productions, as no actor would work with him.

Turned down the role of the German villain Toht in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), although he wanted to do a movie with Steven Spielberg, but thought "the script is as moronically shitty as so many other flicks of its ilk." He chose to appear in Venom (1981) instead, because the salary was better.

Of his three children, only his son Nikolai Kinski attended the funeral in California, where his ashes were strewn in the Pacific Ocean (February 1992).

For a brief time he lived in an apartment in Munich (Elisabethstraße 3) which he shared with several other people. One of the children living there was thirteen-year-old Werner Herzog. They later collaborated on five movies.

According to Kinski, he rejected offers to work with the acclaimed directors Pier Paolo Pasolini, Federico Fellini, Luchino Visconti, Ken Russell and Steven Spielberg because the salaries were too low.

In 2013, daughter Pola Kinski published her Autobiography "Kindermund" in Germany, in which she accuses her father of sexual abuse between the ages of 5 and 19.

Father, with Ruth Tocki, of actress Nastassja Kinski.

Only chose films that took a short time to make and which paid the most.

In his memoirs, the actor claimed that as a child, he had to steal food for his family as his father was out of work.

Was completely self-taught as an actor.

He appeared in two adaptations of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel "Dracula". He played Renfield in Count Dracula (1970) and Count Dracula in Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979).

His provocative 1977 TV appearance on Je später der Abend... (1973) became legendary because he didn't answer a single question during an interview and called the host Reinhard Münchenhagen "Herr Münchhausen".

He was honored by his city of birth, Sopot.

He worked with Christopher Lee in The Devil's Daffodil (1961), Secret of the Red Orchid (1962), Psycho-Circus (1966), Five Golden Dragons (1967) and Count Dracula (1970). His daughter Nastassja Kinski later worked with Lee in To the Devil a Daughter (1976).

His father was an apothecary and allegedly also an opera singer who died, as did his mother, during the Second World War.

His countenance and screen persona gave his film career a boost in the 1960s when he was cast in a number of German productions based upon the thrillers of Edgar Wallace.

The French government declared him a 'Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres' on the 5th Februar 1986, one the highest honors for a foreign artist.

His autobiography was originally released under the title "All I Need Is Love", but was withdrawn in 1989 due to a contract dispute: a German publisher claimed Kinski had previously released an autobiography for them entitled "Ich, Kinski", and sued the publishers. It was reissued in 1997 under the title "Kinski Uncut", adding material that had been excluded from the first version of the book.

Werner Herzog collaborated on 5 features with Kinski: Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972), Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979), Woyzeck (1979), Fitzcarraldo (1982) and Cobra Verde (1987). Only director Alfred Vohrer worked more often with Kinski: He directed 7 of the 16 'Edgar Wallace' films in which Kinski appeared.

Was ambidextrous, as can be seen in "Fitzcarraldo" (1982). He writes with his right hand, but eats and draws with his left.

Although better known during his career for acting in many B-movies, he also worked together with some famous film directors, most notably David Lean, Billy Wilder, George Roy Hill, Sergio Leone and Werner Herzog. Other respected directors included Douglas Sirk, Damiano Damiani, James Toback, Andrzej Zulawski, Frank Cassenti, Giuliano Montaldo, Laslo Benedek, Fritz Kortner and Helmut Käutner. Among Kinski's films two were even nominated for 'Best Picture' / 'Best Foreign Language Film' at the Academy Awards: Doctor Zhivago (1965) and Operation Thunderbolt (1977).

He was offered a part in Hammer's last movie To the Devil a Daughter (1976), but turned it down as his scenes would take more than ten days to shoot.

Father of actor Nikolai Kinski.

According to Tony Anthony, Kinski auditioned for the role of En Plein in The Stranger Returns (1967), but didn't get the role due to a near-fatal accident at Cinecittà Studios. The horse he rode as part of his audition had not been ridden for many months due to being sheltered over the recent winter. While Kinski was on horseback, the skittish animal jumped, lurched, pinned him against a wall and fell on top of him, crushing him with its entire body-weight on the steps of a saloon set. X-rays revealed that Kinski's spine was cracked, and he had narrowly avoided getting paralyzed for life. The role of En Plein went to Dan Vadis, and Kinski received no compensation for the incident because the producers did not have insurance. Weeks later, he defied his doctor's orders to not exert himself or ride a horse by playing the role of a villain in the pseudo-Western Man, Pride & Vengeance (1967).

In his long film career Klaus Kinski worked together with 11 Academy Award winning actors (Maximilian Schell, Ernest Borgnine, Christopher Plummer, Walter Matthau, Jack Lemmon, Diane Keaton, Anjelica Huston, Susan Sarandon, Julie Christie, Rod Steiger and Alec Guinness) and 4 Academy Award winning directors (Billy Wilder, David Lean, George Roy Hill, and Clint Eastwood).

Grandchildren: Aljosha, Sonja and Kenya.

Director Alfred Vohrer, who had the strongest artistic influence on the popular German film series based on material by Edgar Wallace, worked with Kinski on 7 of the 14 'Edgar Wallace' films he directed: Dead Eyes of London (1961), The Door with Seven Locks (1962), The Inn on the River (1962), Der Zinker (1963), The Indian Scarf (1963), Again the Ringer (1965) and Creature with the Blue Hand (1967).

Father of actress Pola Kinski.

Son of Bruno Nakszynski, a Polish-German pharmacist, and his wife Susanne Lutze, daughter of a German pastor from Danzig.

Was announced to play Dr. Hans Fallada in Lifeforce (1985), but dropped out. Was also considered for Dr. Bukovsky as well.

Uncle of actress Lara Lamberti.

Brother-in-law of Tommy Kent.