Quick Facts
Biography
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.
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",
the TV Guide stated that Niklas was the Discovery of the year 1986. 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, 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" 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: The Rose Garden, 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". His latest appearance was in the German film Die Zeit, die man Leben nennt.
Selected filmography
| Title | Year | Role |
|---|---|---|
| The Clown | 1976 | Leo |
| The Formula | 1980 | Gestapo Captain |
| Colonel Redl | 1985 | Kubinyi Kristof |
| Peter the Great (TV film) | 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 film) | 1986 | Prince Erich |
| Anne Frank: The Whole Story (TV film) | 2001 | Fritz Pfeffer |
| Plain Truth (TV film) | 2004 | Aaron Fitch |
| Summer Solstice (TV film) | 2005 | Oscar |
| Die Zeit, die man Leben nennt (TV film) | 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)