Klaus Maria Brandauer
From the Aussee district to Hollywood
| Klaus Maria Brandauer is probably Austria’s most famous character actor. Born in Bad Aussee, he has played opposite such great film actors and actresses as Sean Connery, Meryl Streep and Robert Redford.
1944 Klaus Maria Brandauer is born as Klaus Georg Steng in Bad Aussee in the Styrian Salzkammergut district.
1963 After dropping out of drama school in Stuttgart, the young Brandauer makes his debut in 1963 in a Shakespeare play at the municipal theatre in Tübingen, Germany.
1964-1972 The Austrian actor, whose greatest professional asset is the ability to combine boyish charm with enigmatic profundity, performs at theatres in Salzburg and Düsseldorf. From 1972 onwards, he is a member of the ensemble of the Burgtheater in Vienna.
1973 The actor’s venture into the world of directing – in Shakespeare’s „As you like it“ – is a great success.
1974-1981 Theatre audiences are enthusiastic about the Styrian’s skill as an actor and director. The film industry begins to take notice of Brandauer’s talent.
1982 Brandauer makes his international breakthrough with the role of Hendrik Höfgen, alias Gustaf Gründgens, in the film "Mephisto".
1984 Brandauer plays Sean Connery’s nemesis in the James Bond film "Never say never again".
1984 Brandauer plays the heroine’s husband in the Hollywood film "Out of Africa". He receives the Golden Globe award and an Oscar nomination for this role.
since 1985 Both the stage and the film world are home to Brandauer. Nonetheless, he has not forgotten his home town – and so Klaus Maria Brandauer regularly appears at events in Bad Aussee.
Klaus Maria Brandauer (*1944)
The internationally acclaimed actor Klaus Maria Brandauer was born Klaus Georg Stern on 22 June 1944 in Bad Aussee in the Styrian Salzkammergut district. The son of a German father and an Austrian mother, he grew up in Austria and Germany.
After taking his school-leaving examination (“Matura”), the young Brandauer decided to study at the University of Music and Dramatic Art in Stuttgart in Germany. However, he dropped out after a year and went to the Landestheater in Tübingen instead. There he made his debut in 1963 as Claudio in Shakespeare’s “Measure for Measure”.
The English playwright was to feature again and again in Brandauer’s future career...
International successes
After appearing at theatres in Salzburg, Düsseldorf and Vienna (Theater an der Josefstadt, Burgtheater), where he repeatedly played Shakespearean roles, he began his career as a director in 1973 with Shakespeare’s “As You Like It”. The Styrian-born actor’s international breakthrough came in the film “Mephisto”, which won the Oscar for best foreign film in 1982.
Oscar nomination
Many films followed which Brandauer made together with stars like Sean Connery (“Never say never again”) and the director Sidney Pollack (“Out of Africa”). Klaus Maria Brandauer was nominated for the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role in this film.
He also acted in “Oberst Redl” and “Hanussen”, “Georg Eiser” and “Spinnennetz”.
The Aussee district
Despite his international career, Brandauer always retained close links with the Aussee district. Many events organised by the “Poesie im Auseerland” association take place there every year. Klaus Maria Brandauer not only participates in most of these events – he is also the president of the association.
Incidentally, Klaus Maria Brandauer was married to Karin Brandauer, a screenwriter and director who, like himself, was born in Bad Aussee. She died in 1992. Brandauer’s son Christian is the product of this marriage.