Klaus Maria Brandauer

One of the few contemporary German-speaking actors to have become established as an international star, Klaus Maria Brandauer first came to prominence for his compelling performance as Hendrik Hofgen, an ambitious young actor adopted by the Nazi party during the 1930s, in Hungarian director Istvan Szabo's Oscar-winning Best Foreign Film "Mephisto" (1981). A longtime member of Vienna's Burgtheater (The National Theater of Austria), the compact, burly, stage-trained Brandauer won acclaim for his performances as several Shakespearean heroes (Hamlet, Romeo, Petruchio) and has been a perennial player at the Salzburg Festival, appearing in the titular role of Hugo von Hoffmanstahl's "Everyman." Though he made his film debut in 1972's "The Salzburg Connection," his dissatisfaction with the end product kept him leery of the big screen for many years.