Background
He was born in Paris, France and grew up in California. He is the son of the German actor Klaus Kinski and his third wife, Minhoi Geneviève Loanic.
He was born in Paris, France and grew up in California. He is the son of the German actor Klaus Kinski and his third wife, Minhoi Geneviève Loanic.
Currently residing in Berlin, Germany, he has acted primarily in American and German films, and speaks English, German and French. He holds dual citizenship in the United States and France. He is the half-brother of actresses Pola Kinski and Nastassja Kinski.
His father encouraged his interest in acting.
Nikolai first had a role at the age of 13 alongside his father in the film Kinski Paganini (1989). In the mid-1990s, he entered the University of California, Los Angeles 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 films and television series, in addition to American works.
He starred in Æon Flux (2005) alongside Charlize Theron.