Actor who appeared in My Own Private Idaho, Blade, Armageddon and Dogville, as well as Madonna music videos and video games, died on Sunday
Actor who appeared in My Own Private Idaho, Blade, Armageddon and Dogville, as well as Madonna music videos and video games, died on Sunday
Udo Kier, the German actor who appeared in 275 roles across Hollywood and European cinema, including multiple films by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Gus Van Sant and Lars von Trier, has died aged 81.
Kier died on Sunday morning, his partner Delbert McBride told Variety. The actor died in hospital in Palm Springs, California, his friend the photographer Michael Childers announced on social media. No cause of death was given.
Known for his piercing stare, Kier frequently played villains, monsters and creeps; he portrayed vampires and Nazis multiple times. He acted in films, television, music videos and video games, and was sometimes labelled a character actor for his consistently memorable turns across European cinema and Hollywood. “I like horror films,” he once said, “because if you play small or guest parts in movies, it is better to be evil and scare people than be the guy who works in the post office and goes home to his wife and children. Audiences will remember you more.”
Kier was born Udo Kierspe in Germany in 1944; just hours after he was born the hospital was bombed and he had to be rescued from the ruins of the maternity ward with his mother.
