I've always been a big fan-- he's always been one of my favorite actors, and the film "Aguirre, the Wrath of God" may be my personal favorite film of all time--- but he's always been nuts...perhaps clinically insane...and recently there have been disturbing allegations of incest. His daughter Pola has just written a book (2013) claiming that her father molested her for years. Why now, 20 plus years after his death? She is quoted as saying, ""I want everyone to know the truth about my father because I am sick and tired of people in Germany glorifying him. Everywhere I hear 'He was such a great actor' and 'I loved him in so-and-so movie'. The adulation only got worse after his death." Obviously, she's not as "forgiving" as Mackenzie Phillips has claimed to be, and that's certainly more than understandable. The thought of a parent forcing a child into committing incest (or manipulating a child into incest) is sickening, a crime for which there has to be zero tolerance. Half-sister Nastassia has said that he attempted incest with her, but was unsuccessful, or changed his mind, or was repulsed. She has also said, ""He was no father. Ninety nine percent of the time I was terrified of him. He was so unpredictable that the family lived in constant terror." When asked what she would say to him now if she had a chance, she replied, "I would do anything to put him behind bars for life. I am glad he is no longer alive." Strong stuff, coming from a daughter regarding her father. Stalin's daughter had better things to say about her father, than Kinski's daughters did about Kinski.
Undeniably, it's all extremely disturbing. For me, as a long term "fan," the issue is separating the "artist" from the individual, I guess. Which isn't always easy. Roman Polanski is a genius, but he drugged a young female and had sex with her (some would call it rape). It makes him a shitty human being, but it doesn't diminish his artistry, his genius. Elia Kazan was a rat, but he made classics that live on. Brando was a horrible father, but when he was on the top of his game (when he wanted to be), he was the best there is, the standard that most Cold War and post Cold War actors aspire to. And Klaus Kinski was an abusive lunatic (which was always known) and an incestuous rapist, if we're to believe his daughter...and why would she lie about such a thing at this point in time? To what end? But...when he wanted to be...he was one of the greatest actors of all time. There's no taking that away from him.
This doesn't mean I was ever enamored of Kinski as a human being, or thought he was fundamentally a "nice guy." His autobiography "All I Need Is Love" seemed designed to convince the reader that Kinski was one of Europe's biggest "studs" while degrading to women in particular and to every other human being in his life in general. Most found the book offensive; I found it pathetic and sad. He was vocal about his willingness to make cinematic crap for whatever money he could get, and turning down offers from people like Fellini because the money offered was not enough for him. He seemed proud of his greed, and I suppose he could get some kudos for honesty, but to me it was always comparable to Brando making a few great films and then walking through the rest for a big payoff (he got several million for 5 minutes in "Superman"-- what is that if not obscene?). Fuck the audience, fuck artistic integrity, fuck effort and achievement...where's my money? What's admirable about that, particularly when it's coming from the most gifted actors in the world? And, as a person, Kinski could be downright nasty (I strongly recommend the Werner Herzog documentary about his troubled relationship with Kinski entitled "My Best Friend"), even potentially homicidal. During the making of "Aguirre," he became disturbed by some extras playing cards in a hut, and fired 3 gunshots wildly at the hut. Luckily, no one was killed, but one extra had the tip of his finger blown off. There are other stories too numerous to recount here. Maybe Kinski was clinically insane. Or maybe he was just an egotistical jerkoff whose only regard was for himself. Certainly 2 of his children would subscribe, I think, to the latter view.
So...when all is said and done...is Kinski still one of my favorite actors? Yes. Was he a great actor? Yes. As a human being, though, he was a piece of shit.