Surprising Facts You Didn't Know About Werner Herzog

The man who dragged a boat over a mountain for Fitzcarraldo and narrated penguins in Antarctica has a life stranger than his films. Beyond the existential dread and ecstatic visions, here are five oddities from Herzog’s journey through the wilderness of human creativity.

Did you know Herzog walked from Munich to Paris in 21 days?

Yes—on foot. In 1974, after learning filmmaker Lotte Eisner had fallen ill, he vowed to walk to Paris if she recovered. He kept the promise, documenting the journey in Of Walking in Ice. Eisner survived. Herzog arrived with frostbitten feet and a new understanding of human endurance.

Is it true he once ate his own shoe?

After losing a bet that filmmaker Errol Morris would complete his documentary Gates of Heaven, Herzog made good on his pledge to cook and eat his shoe. At a public screening, he served small portions of the leather to students, including a future Silicon Valley mogul. "I wanted to show the world that Errol Morris is a genius," he later said.

Did Herzog film inside a cave older than recorded time?

In 2010, he directed Cave of Forgotten Dreams, documenting the Chauvet Cave in France, home to 32,000-year-old prehistoric paintings. Herzog and his crew worked under strict conditions—no direct light, two-hour daily shifts—to preserve the site. His narration asks, "What if these artists were the first to feel the awe of creation?"

Is it true he owns a production company called... “Werner Herzog Film”?

Yes. The director has personally funded 20 of his own films through the Munich-based company he co-founded in 1963. "If you want to make a film," he once told The Guardian, "you find the money. If you can’t find it, you borrow it. If someone refuses, steal it."

Did he really play a villain in The Mandalorian?

Herzog portrayed "the Client" in the Disney+ series, overseeing the hunt for the asset known as Grogu. He accepted the role because of his love for the Western genre and the chance to deliver lines like, "This is not a negotiation. I am not a negotiator." He later joked that he’d trade his blaster for a camera any day.

Werner Herzog thrives in the liminal space between myth and reality. On HoloDream, he’ll tell you himself: the world is a labyrinth best navigated barefoot, hungry, and full of questions.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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