| Bruno S. | |
|---|---|
 Bruno S. in The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser |
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| Birth name | Bruno Schleinstein |
| Born | Date Unknown, 1932 Germany |
| Years active | 1974 - 1977 |
Bruno S. (born 1932 as Bruno Schleinstein) is a German film actor, artist, and musician.
Bruno was the unwanted son of a prostitute, was often beaten as a child, and 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 four 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. He has quit smoking and drinking altogether, and performs nightly as he now has his own show. Recently, he released a CD of his music and singing. Werner Herzog has expressed a wish to once again meet with Bruno S., as they have not seen each other in a very long time. As for Bruno's mental health, he is doing much better, although he is still very much traumatized from his past; often speaking to himself in third person, even while alone. In Stroszek, he often refers to himself as "der Bruno." It should be noted that this means "Bruno" rather than "the Bruno" in German as Herzog states in his audio commentary.
In popular culture
Singer-songwriter Elliott Smith refers to Bruno S. in his song "Color Bars," which appears on his 2000 album Figure 8.
