One of the most renowned German actors in Hollywood, Udo Kier, known for his villainous roles, has died at the age of 81, the American magazine Variety said on Sunday, citing his companion Delbert McBride. The causes of his death have not been revealed.
His particular face, marked by a very penetrating, almost frightening blue gaze, combined with a slim silhouette, allowed him to act in more than 200 films for more than half a century.
After gaining notoriety in the early 1970s in the feature films “Flesh for Frankenstein” and “Blood for Dracula”, produced by Andy Warhol, he played for some of the greatest contemporary filmmakers, such as his compatriot Rainer Werner Fassbinder (“Lili Marleen”, 1981) or the Dane Lars von Trier, of whom he was one of the favorite actors (“Melancholia”, 2011).
Last appearance on screen in 2025
In the 1990s, Udo Kier played several supporting roles in major Hollywood productions, such as “Ace Ventura, Cat and Dog Detective”, “Armageddon” and “Blade”.
Born Udo Kierspe in Cologne in 1944 and rescued from the rubble after an Allied air raid hit the hospital, Kier grew up in post-war Germany before moving to London at the age of 18 to learn English. He then shuttled between Europe and the United States during his career before later settling in Los Angeles, then Palm Springs.
His last appearance on screen was in 2025, where he briefly played the role of a Jewish Holocaust survivor in Brazil in the film “The Secret Agent” by Brazilian Kleber Mendonça Filho, which won the Best Director Award at the Cannes Film Festival.