The German film director Werner Herzog was born in Munich in 1942, the middle of World War II. Two weeks into his life, the city was carpet-bombed, and his mother grabbed him and his brother and fled to a small village near the Austrian border. For the next three years, they had nothing. No running water, no electricity, and almost no food. The three of them had to share one loaf of bread per week. Given such a rough start, Herzog’s life story was, in a way, delayed.
The first time he used a phone — a very common technology even back then — he was 17 years old. Herzog had always dreamed of making movies, but it was only at age 15 that he stole his first camera and actually got to shoot any material. His first little film? 19 years old. Only when he was 30 did a feature film he made on a shoestring budget get him noticed in the community.
Today, Herzog is a legend in the business, directing everything from feature films to TV shows, documentaries, operas, theater plays, and even acting and voice acting on occasion. Werner Herzog was late — to everything — and yet, now 81 years old, he can look back on a wonderful life.
Catching up happens at your own pace — and it’s never too late to start walking.