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Maximilian "Max" Schreck (June 11, 1879 Berlin – November 26, 1936 Munich ) was a German actor. He is most often remembered today for his lead role in Nosferatu.
Biography
Schreck received his training at the Staatstheater in Berlin. He made his stage debut in Messeritz and Speyer, and then toured Germany for two years appearing at theatres in Zittau, Erfurt, Bremen, Lucerne, Gera, and Frankfurt am Main. Schreck then joined Max Reinhardt's celebrated company of performers back in Berlin. Many of Reinhardt's troupe made a huge contribution to the cinema.
For three years between 1919 and 1922, Schreck appeared at the Munich Kammerspiele while working on his first film Der Richter von Zalamea, adapted from a six act play, for Decla Bioscop. In 1922 he was hired by Prana Film for their first and only production, Nosferatu. The company declared themselves bankrupt after the film's release to avoid paying copyright infringement costs to an irate Florence Stoker, the widow of Dracula author Bram Stoker. Schreck's Count Orlok, with his bald, rat-shaped head and long spidery fingers, remains a haunting character.
In 1923, Schreck appeared as a blind man in the acclaimed film Die Straße. Schreck's second collaboration with Nosferatu director F.W. Murnau was decidedly less successful with the ill-conceived 1924 comedy Die Finanzen des Grossherzogs (The Finances of the Grand Duke). Even Murnau did not hesitate to declare his contempt for the picture.
In 1926, Schreck returned to the Kammerspiele in Munich and continued to act in films right through the advent of sound until his death. He was married to actress Fanny Normann, who appeared in a few films, often credited as Fanny Schreck
Curiously, the word Schreck is also the German word for fright, or terror. It comes from the Middle High German word schrecken: to frighten, or terrify. Because of this, many authors who were unaware of Schreck's on-stage credits (and ignorant of the rather sparse details of his personal life) speculated that there was really no such person, and that Schreck was, in fact, some well-known actor who had chosen to adopt a pseudonym for his role in "Nosferatu". One of the prime 'suspects' was Alfred Abel; however, a careful examination of the photographs of these two actors is sufficient to dispel such notions. Schreck died on 26 November 1936, Munich, Bavaria, Germany of a heart attack
Trivia
Schreck is portrayed by actor Willem Dafoe in E. Elias Merhige's Shadow of the Vampire. In a sort of secret history, Shadow posits that Schreck gave such a terrifying performance as Orlok because he actually was a vampire.
In the 1992 film Batman Returns, the character Max Shreck was named as an in-joke by director Tim Burton. The part was played by Christopher Walken.
A vampire character in the film Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter is named Maxine Schreck, as an homage to the actor.
Long list of films he appeared in at IMDB
www.imdb.com/name/nm0775180/
Max at the History of Horror
eric.b.olsen.tripod.com/schreck.html
Max at LeninImports
www.leninimports.com/max_schreck.html
Biography
Schreck received his training at the Staatstheater in Berlin. He made his stage debut in Messeritz and Speyer, and then toured Germany for two years appearing at theatres in Zittau, Erfurt, Bremen, Lucerne, Gera, and Frankfurt am Main. Schreck then joined Max Reinhardt's celebrated company of performers back in Berlin. Many of Reinhardt's troupe made a huge contribution to the cinema.
For three years between 1919 and 1922, Schreck appeared at the Munich Kammerspiele while working on his first film Der Richter von Zalamea, adapted from a six act play, for Decla Bioscop. In 1922 he was hired by Prana Film for their first and only production, Nosferatu. The company declared themselves bankrupt after the film's release to avoid paying copyright infringement costs to an irate Florence Stoker, the widow of Dracula author Bram Stoker. Schreck's Count Orlok, with his bald, rat-shaped head and long spidery fingers, remains a haunting character.
In 1923, Schreck appeared as a blind man in the acclaimed film Die Straße. Schreck's second collaboration with Nosferatu director F.W. Murnau was decidedly less successful with the ill-conceived 1924 comedy Die Finanzen des Grossherzogs (The Finances of the Grand Duke). Even Murnau did not hesitate to declare his contempt for the picture.
In 1926, Schreck returned to the Kammerspiele in Munich and continued to act in films right through the advent of sound until his death. He was married to actress Fanny Normann, who appeared in a few films, often credited as Fanny Schreck
Curiously, the word Schreck is also the German word for fright, or terror. It comes from the Middle High German word schrecken: to frighten, or terrify. Because of this, many authors who were unaware of Schreck's on-stage credits (and ignorant of the rather sparse details of his personal life) speculated that there was really no such person, and that Schreck was, in fact, some well-known actor who had chosen to adopt a pseudonym for his role in "Nosferatu". One of the prime 'suspects' was Alfred Abel; however, a careful examination of the photographs of these two actors is sufficient to dispel such notions. Schreck died on 26 November 1936, Munich, Bavaria, Germany of a heart attack
Trivia
Schreck is portrayed by actor Willem Dafoe in E. Elias Merhige's Shadow of the Vampire. In a sort of secret history, Shadow posits that Schreck gave such a terrifying performance as Orlok because he actually was a vampire.
In the 1992 film Batman Returns, the character Max Shreck was named as an in-joke by director Tim Burton. The part was played by Christopher Walken.
A vampire character in the film Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter is named Maxine Schreck, as an homage to the actor.
Long list of films he appeared in at IMDB
www.imdb.com/name/nm0775180/
Max at the History of Horror
eric.b.olsen.tripod.com/schreck.html
Max at LeninImports
www.leninimports.com/max_schreck.html
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