Background
January Niklas was born on 15 October 1947 in Pottenstein, near Nuremberg, Germany.
- Photos
- Works
- Photos
- Works
January Niklas
Edit ProfileEducation
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
He is best known for playing in television films such as Peter The Great, Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna and Anne Frank: The Whole Story. Niklas made his first television appearance on an episode of the German television series Sonderdezernat K1 as Juniorchef. After playing in a couple of television 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: "lieutenant’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 television 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).
After this Niklas played in movies such as: The Rose Garden, Doctor M, Red Hot and The House of the Spirits. Which was, according to the Detroit News, "Completely Believable".
His latest appearance was in the German film Die Zeit, die man Leben nennt.
Wins Nominations.
Achievements
-
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 Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna) Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for television (for Peter the Great).
