Nanhoï Nikolai Kinski (born July 30, 1976) is a French-American film actor, who has also done work in television and on stage. He was born in Paris, and grew up in California. Currently residing in Berlin, he has acted primarily in American and German films, and speaks English, German, and French. He is a citizen of both the U.S. and France. He is the only son of the German actor

Klaus Kinski Klaus Kinski (, born Klaus Günter Karl Nakszynski 18 October 1926 – 23 November 1991) was a German actor, equally renowned for his intense performance style and notorious for his volatile personality. He appeared in over 130 film roles in a c ...

and his third wife, Minhoi Geneviève Loanic. He is the half-brother of actresses Pola Kinski and

Nastassja Kinski Nastassja Aglaia Kinski (; , ; born 24 January 1961) is a German actress and former model who has appeared in more than 60 films in Europe and the United States. Her worldwide breakthrough was with ''Stay as You Are'' (1978). She then came to gl ...

, and through Nastassja, the uncle of model Kenya Kinski-Jones.

Early life and education

Kinski was born in 1976 in Paris, to German actor Klaus Kinski, and his third wife, Minhoi Geneviève Loanic, a model of 19 when they met, who was born in Vietnam and came with her family to France at the age of seven. His father had two older daughters, Pola Kinski and Nastassja Kinski, born in Germany to his first and second wives, respectively. He took his family to California, where Nikolai lived mostly with his mother after his parents divorced in 1979. He was never close to his half-sisters, who lived most of the time in Germany.

Acting career

Kinski's father encouraged his interest in acting. His first role was at the age of 13 alongside his father in the film '' Kinski Paganini'' (1989). In the mid-1990s, he entered the

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

School of Theatre as a theatre major and graduated from there. Afterward Kinski moved to Berlin, where he learned to speak German fluently. He has since starred in a number of

German language German ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and Official language, official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Ita ...

films and TV series, in addition to American works. He starred in ''

Æon Flux ''Æon Flux'' is an American avant-garde science fiction adventure animated television series that aired on MTV from November 30, 1991, until October 10, 1995, with film, comic book, and video game adaptations following thereafter. It premiered ...

'' (2005) alongside Charlize Theron. In 2006, Kinski won the

Romy Award The Romy television award in honor of the German-born and naturalized French actress Romy Schneider, born in Vienna, was created in 1990 by the Austrian newspaper ''Kurier'' – or rather their movie reviewer Rudolf John, who also designed th ...

as best newcomer.Romy Award Winner
Nikolai Kinski website

Filmography

Notes

External links

* * 1976 births Living people Male actors from Paris French emigrants to the United States American male film actors American people of German descent American people of Polish descent American film actors of Vietnamese descent French male film actors French male television actors French male child actors French people of German descent French people of Polish descent French people of Vietnamese descent {{France-actor-stub, Kinski, Nikolai