History Creator / WernerHerzog

--->'''Documentary Filmmaker:''' Antarctica, an inhospitable wasteland, but even here, on the Earth's frozen bottom, we find life. And not just any life: penguins. Joyous, frolicking, waddling, cute and cuddly life. Look at them, tumbling onto their chubby bum bums. Who could take these frisky snow-clowns...

* ProductionPosse: Despite the above-mentioned HostilityOnTheSet, he and Kinski have collaborated with each other a lot until the latter's fatal heart attack.

* SelfDeprecation: Perhaps somewhat unexpectedly, he has a very good sense of humour about himself and is perfectly willing to lampoon his reputation as a hyper-intense Germanic semi-lunatic with a tendency to say very enigmatically dramatic and nihilistic things about nature and the human condition.

* SelfDeprecation: He is perfectly willing to lampoon his reputation as a hyper-intense Germanic semi-lunatic with a tendency to say very enigmatically dramatic and nihilistic things about nature and the human condition.

* ''Cobra Verde'' (1987)

* HostilityOnTheSet : His friendship with his recurrent leading actor Creator/KlausKinski was... rocky, to say the least. Herzog made a film about their relationship titled, appropriately, ''My Best Fiend''.

* EatingShoes: The documentary filmmaker Errol Morris was having trouble completing his debut feature ''Film/GatesOfHeaven''. In order to provoke Morris into finishing the film, Herzog told Morris that he'd never finish it -- but that if he ''did'' finish it, he, Herzog, [[ClothesEatingWager would eat his own shoe]]. Morris finished the film. Herzog got the great Berkeley chef Alice Waters to cook his shoe in garlic, herbs and stock for five hours, and he ate it in public - except for the sole, because as he explained, you never eat the bones of the chicken. The whole thing was filmed by director Les Blank and released as the aptly-titled short documentary ''[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe]]''.

* MoneyDearBoy: He ended up playing a role in ''Series/TheMandalorian'' in order to [[https://screenrant.com/mandalorian-tv-show-werner-herzog-role-reason/ fund a future project]], although he did like the script and the role he ended up having.

* WithFriendsLikeThese: His friendship with Creator/KlausKinski was [[HostilityOnTheSet rocky]]. Herzog made a film about their relationship titled, appropriately, ''My Best Fiend''.

* EatingShoes: The documentary filmmaker Errol Morris was having trouble completing his debut feature ''Film/GatesOfHeaven''. In order to provoke Morris into finishing the film, Herzog told Morris that he'd never finish it -- but that if he ''did'' finish it, he, Herzog, would eat his own shoe. Morris finished the film. Herzog got the great Berkeley chef Alice Waters to cook his shoe in garlic, herbs and stock for five hours, and he ate it in public - except for the sole, because as he explained, you never eat the bones of the chicken. The whole thing was filmed by director Les Blank and released as the aptly-titled short documentary ''[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe]]''.

* NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent: Always uses his regular voice in his acting roles and makes no effort to tone down his distinctive accent, even when playing characters who are not German. However, he ususally gets a pass from audiences because his unique diction is one of his biggest trademarks and a major part of his appeal as a dramatic actor.

* EveryoneHasStandards: Despite his somewhat infamous reputation for committing to the bit, Herzog point-blank refused to include the audio of Tim Treadwell's brutal death in his documentary ''Film/GrizzlyMan''.

* HeAlsoDid: He acted in protegé Creator/HarmonyKorine's ''Film/JulienDonkeyBoy'' and ''Film/MisterLonely'', and played the BigBad in ''Film/JackReacher'', fulfilling a lifelong dream of playing a Bond villain-like character on film. Most recently, he's been cast as an Imperial remnant leader in ''Series/TheMandalorian''.

[[quoteright:250:[[Series/TheMandalorian Directing is a complicated profession.]]]]

** In ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'', as an alien advisor criticizing the human race:

* {{Documentary}}: Several, including one {{Mockumentary}}.

* LemonyNarrator: A common component of his Signature Style is the contrast between his over-the-top narration and the stark, genuine nature of the footage he is talking over.