Jan Niklas

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Jan Niklas
Born (1947-10-15) 15 October 1947 (age 76)
Munich, Germany
Other names Yan Nicklas
Occupation film, television actor
Years active 1974–present
Website http://www.janniklas.com/

Jan Niklas (born 15 October 1947), is a German film and television actor. He is best known for playing in TV films such as Peter The Great, Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna and Anne Frank: The Whole Story. He won a Golden Globe Award for his appearance in the TV miniseries Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna. Niklas also played in the Hungarian film Colonel Redl which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Early life

Jan Niklas was born on 15 October 1947 in Pottenstein, near Nuremberg, Germany. After attending boarding school in England, he took acting classes in London, following this he completed three years of acting classess at the Max Reinhardt Academy in Berlin.[1]

Career

Niklas made his first television appearance on an episode of the German TV series Sonderdezernat K1 as Juniorchef. After playing in a couple of TV movies and miniseries Niklas slowly gained popularity, his breakthrough came in 1985, when he was cast to have a supporting role in István Szabó's war film Oberst Redl. But things went really well when in 1986 he was cast to portray a young Peter the Great in the miniseries Peter the Great, a lot of newspapers and magazines stated that it was Niklas' performance that made the miniseries so believable, the Miami Herald stated:

"It’s Niklas’ vigorously effective portrayal of the younger Peter that hooks a viewer into caring about this legendary figure. Due to his energetic performance the first two parts of “Peter the Great” are the most absorbing",[2]

the TV Guide stated that Niklas was the Discovery of the year 1986.[2] Niklas got the Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television but lost it to James Woods (Promise). However, later that same year, his "style and flair" was recognized throughout the industry,[1] and brought him to the historical drama Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna in which he portrayed Prince Erich, The Boston Globe called it "A Performance Worth Remembering"[2] Niklas won the Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television for his performance. After this Niklas played in movies such as: it, Dr. M, Red Hot and The House of the Spirits. He stayed unnoticed for a while, until in 2001 he was cast to portray Fritz Pfeffer in the Emmy Award- winning miniseries Anne Frank: The Whole Story. Which was, according to the Detroit News, "Completely Believable".[2] His latest appearance was in the German film Die Zeit, die man Leben nennt.

Selected filmography

Title Year Role
The Formula 1980 Gestapo Captain
Oberst Redl 1985 Kubinyi Kristof
Peter the Great (TV movie) 1986 Young Peter the Great
The Rose Garden 1989 Paessler
Dr. M 1990 Lt. Hartman
Red Hot 1993 Yorgi
The House of the Spirits 1993 Count de Satigny
Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna (TV movie) 1986 Prince Erich
Anne Frank: The Whole Story (TV movie) 2001 Fritz Pfeffer
Plain Truth (TV movie) 2004 Aaron Fitch
Summer Solstice (TV movie) 2005 Oscar
Die Zeit, die man Leben nennt (TV movie) 2008 Jargonov

Awards and nominations

Wins

  • Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV (for Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna)

Nominations

  • Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV (for Peter the Great)

References

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External links

  1. REDIRECT Template:Golden Globe Supporting Actor TV

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