In 1971, the German actor Klaus Kinski performed a theatrical monologue called Jesus Christ Saviour at the Deutschlandhalle arena in Berlin, but things didn’t quite go to plan. A controversial figure in his lifetime, Kinski was irascible, egomaniacal and prone to violent temper tantrums.
The film director Werner Herzog famously worked with Kinski on movies including Aguirre, the Wrath of God and Fitzcarraldo and later filmed a documentary about the actor’s unhinged antics called My Best Fiend. The antipathy went both ways: in his memoir, Kinski fantasised about Herzog dying of the plague or being eaten alive by ants.
