Photo: Nicolas Genin / CC BY-SA 3.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Werner Herzog is one of those filmmakers who makes you wonder if cinema was actually invented just for him. I've watched Aguirre, the Wrath of God and Fitzcarraldo back to back before, and both times I came away convinced that this man operates on a completely different plane of obsession than any other director alive. His whole thing — dragging a real steamship over a real hill, working with Klaus Kinski when literally anyone else would have walked away — that's not moviemaking bravado, that's a genuine philosophy that the impossible is the only thing worth filming. His documentaries are just as unhinged in the best way; Grizzly Man remains one of the most quietly devastating films I've ever seen. Eighty-plus years old and he's still out there making things. The European Film Academy gave him a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019, and honestly that just scratches the surface of what he's contributed.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Werner Herzog
- Name (Japanese)
- ヴェルナー・ヘルツォーク
- Reading
- ゔぇるなー・へるつぉーく
- Born
- September 5, 1942 (age 83)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Virgo / Horse
- Origin
- Munich, Upper Bavaria, Germany
- Occupation
- film director / film producer / screenwriter / film editor / film actor
2. Background
Awards & achievements
- 2012 Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
- Directors Guild of America Award
- 2000 Bayerischer Poetentaler
- 1979 Rauriser Literaturpreis
- 2019 European Film Academy Lifetime Achievement Award
- 2005 Alfred P. Sloan Prize
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Werner Herzog born?
Born September 5, 1942 (age 83).
Where is Werner Herzog from?
Werner Herzog is from Munich, Upper Bavaria, Germany.
What does Werner Herzog do?
Werner Herzog works as film director, film producer, screenwriter, film editor, film actor.
Film director — see all → · Film producer — see all → · More people from Germany →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.