KLAUS MARIA BRANDAUER
Name: Klaus Georg Steng
Born: 22 June 1943 Bad Aussee, Austria
Klaus Maria Brandauer (born June 22, 1944) is an Austrian actor, film director,
and pedagogue.
Born as Klaus Georg Steng in Bad Aussee, Austria, he subsequently took his
mother's maiden name - Maria Brandauer - as part of his stage name, Klaus Maria
Brandauer. He began acting onstage in 1962. After working in national theatre
and television, he made his film debut in 1972. His starring and award-winning
role in István Szabó's Mephisto (1981) as a self-absorbed actor playing an actor,
launched his career, internationally.
He followed this with parts in Never Say Never Again (1983), Out of Africa (1985,
for which he was nominated for an Oscar) and Szabó's Oberst Redl (1985) and
Hanussen (1988). Brandauer was originally cast as Marko Ramius in The Hunt for
Red October. That role eventually went to Oscar winner Sean Connery, who played
James Bond to Brandauer's Largo in Never Say Never Again (1983). He co-starred
with Connery again in The Russia House, released in 1990.
Brandauer directed his first film in 1989, Georg Elser - Einer aus Deutschland,
with himself in the title role. His other film roles have been in The Lightship
(1986), Streets of Gold (1986), Burning Secret (1988), The Russia House (1990),
White Fang (1991), Becoming Colette (1992), Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (1999)
and Everyman's Feast (2002).
In August 2006, Brandauer's much-awaited production of The Threepenny Opera got
a mixed reception. Brandauer had resisted questions about how his production of
Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill'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. Some at Friday night's
premiere apparently found it too conventional and there were boos after the
curtain for Brandauer when he took his bow.
Brandauer is fluent in four languages: German, Hungarian, English and French and
has acted in each, and is a professor at the Max Reinhardt Seminar in Vienna,
Austria. He won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor in 1986 for his
performance as Bror Blixen in Out of Africa.
Name: Klaus Georg Steng
Born: 22 June 1943 Bad Aussee, Austria
Klaus Maria Brandauer (born June 22, 1944) is an Austrian actor, film director,
and pedagogue.
Born as Klaus Georg Steng in Bad Aussee, Austria, he subsequently took his
mother's maiden name - Maria Brandauer - as part of his stage name, Klaus Maria
Brandauer. He began acting onstage in 1962. After working in national theatre
and television, he made his film debut in 1972. His starring and award-winning
role in István Szabó's Mephisto (1981) as a self-absorbed actor playing an actor,
launched his career, internationally.
He followed this with parts in Never Say Never Again (1983), Out of Africa (1985,
for which he was nominated for an Oscar) and Szabó's Oberst Redl (1985) and
Hanussen (1988). Brandauer was originally cast as Marko Ramius in The Hunt for
Red October. That role eventually went to Oscar winner Sean Connery, who played
James Bond to Brandauer's Largo in Never Say Never Again (1983). He co-starred
with Connery again in The Russia House, released in 1990.
Brandauer directed his first film in 1989, Georg Elser - Einer aus Deutschland,
with himself in the title role. His other film roles have been in The Lightship
(1986), Streets of Gold (1986), Burning Secret (1988), The Russia House (1990),
White Fang (1991), Becoming Colette (1992), Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (1999)
and Everyman's Feast (2002).
In August 2006, Brandauer's much-awaited production of The Threepenny Opera got
a mixed reception. Brandauer had resisted questions about how his production of
Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill'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. Some at Friday night's
premiere apparently found it too conventional and there were boos after the
curtain for Brandauer when he took his bow.
Brandauer is fluent in four languages: German, Hungarian, English and French and
has acted in each, and is a professor at the Max Reinhardt Seminar in Vienna,
Austria. He won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor in 1986 for his
performance as Bror Blixen in Out of Africa.