Werner's portrayal of the philosophical Dr. Schumann in the 1965 film "Ship of Fools" won him the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor and nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actor, the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama, and the BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actor. His portrayal of Fiedler in "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold" (1965) won him the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture and his second BAFTA nomination.