Born in Germany in 1942, Werner Herzog grew up in a remote mountain valley in Bavaria. He did not know of the existence of cinema until age 11 and made his first phone call at 17 — followed by his first film at age 19 and his first literary publications at 23. He has since made some 80 films, founded the Rogue Film School and published a dozen books of prose and poetry. Herzog has also acted in films and opera stagings.

Photo by Clive Oppenheimer