Werner Herzog says his famous accent is 'in some ways a stage voice'

Legendary director and actor Werner Herzog has revealed that his iconic German accent is “in some ways a stage voice”.

The 77-year-old star told The Guardian that, after a career spanning more than 50 years, he has “found a voice the audience understands and likes”.

Over the years, a fandom has sprung up around Herzog’s distinctive accent, which makes his documentary film narration so memorable.

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Herzog had been asked whether he feels like he’s playing a part in movies now that his cult popularity has grown in the online age.

He added: “My voice in documentaries is in some ways a stage voice – I’ve found a voice the audience understands and likes.

“I also live the life of 20 or 30 different Herzogs out there on the internet. There are a lot of impostors. Voice imitators.

“If you find me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter it’s a forgery, an invented persona.

“Some are hilarious, some are silly, some are mediocre.”

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Herzog is currently promoting his new fiction feature as director — Japanese language drama Family Romance, LLC.

The movie uses non-professional actors to tell its story of an agency which provides actors to impersonate people, including the missing father of a 12-year-old girl.

Herzog has popped up in numerous acting roles in recent years, delivering villainous turns in Jack Reacher and as The Client in the first season of The Mandalorian.

He has also lent his famous voice to three episodes of The Simpsons, playing pharmaceutical company employee Walter Hottenhoffer twice and Dr Lund — owner of the Screen Addiction Rehab Center — in the 2020 episode Screentest.

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Herzog remains most famous for his documentary movies, including Grizzly Man and Cave of Forgotten Dreams.

His fiction work behind the camera includes the epic 1970s historical drama Aguirre, the Wrath of God and the remake of Nosferatu the Vampyre.

Family Romance, LLC is due to be released on 3 July.