Bruno S. biography, high resolution photos and videos by Americola 
Bruno S.
[edit] Americola's celebrity biographies are provided by AmericolaWiki, a celebrity wiki. You can help contribute to Americola and edit this article.
Bruno S. (born
1932 as
Bruno Schleinstein) is a
German film actor,
artist, and
musician.
Bruno was the unwanted son of a prostitute and was often beaten as a child. As a result, he spent much of his life in mental institutions. Bruno was spotted by director Werner Herzog in the documentary Bruno der Schwarze - Es blies ein Jäger wohl in sein Horn (1970). Herzog promptly cast Bruno, a street musician with no experience of acting, as his lead actor in the 1974 film The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (Jeder für sich und Gott gegen Alle).
He is a largely self-taught musician, who, over the years developed considerable skill on the piano, accordion and glockenspiel. He would play in "back yards" performing 18th and 19th century style ballads on the weekends, while sustaining himself financially working as a forklift driver at an automotive plant. His music has earned him genuine respect in his community.
Bruno also starred in
Stroszek (1977), which Herzog wrote in a few days especially for him, apparently to compensate for having cast
Klaus Kinski in
Woyzeck at the last minute instead of Bruno.
Stroszek has a number of biographical details from Bruno's life, including the use of his own flat as the home of Bruno Stroszek. He also plays his own instruments. Herzog has claimed that Bruno was deeply suspicious of the director, and nervous of performing in front of the cameras — so had to be "listened to" for several hours on set in order to build his self-esteem.
Bruno S. remains somewhat enigmatic and has not acted since. Instead, he took up
painting and
music. Some of his artwork was shown at the 2004 Outsider Art Fair in
New York City.
