Udo Kier, the German actor who appeared in 275 roles across Hollywood and European cinema, has died aged 81. Kier died on Sunday morning in hospital in Palm Springs, California, his partner Delbert McBride told Variety. No cause of death was given.
Born Udo Kierspe in Germany in 1944, Kier was rescued from the ruins of a bombed hospital just hours after his birth. He grew up in poverty in post-war Germany, later working in a factory as a teenager to escape his circumstances. At 16, he befriended future director Rainer Werner Fassbinder in a Cologne bar. After moving to London to study English, he was discovered in a coffee shop and began his acting career.
Kier's breakout role came in the 1970 horror film 'Mark of the Devil'. He became known for playing villains, monsters and creeps, portraying vampires and Nazis multiple times. He collaborated extensively with Fassbinder, appearing in films such as 'The Stationmaster's Wife', 'Lola' and the miniseries 'Berlin Alexanderplatz'. He also formed a long-term partnership with Lars von Trier, featuring in 'Epidemic', 'Breaking the Waves', 'Dogville' and 'Melancholia', among others.
In Hollywood, Kier took memorable roles in 'My Own Private Idaho', 'Ace Ventura: Pet Detective', 'Blade', 'Armageddon' and 'End of Days'. He also appeared in music videos for Madonna, Supertramp, Korn and Eve. His later work included leading roles in 'Swan Song' and the video game 'OD' by Hideo Kojima.
Of his prolific career, Kier once said: '100 movies are bad, 50 movies you can see with a glass of wine and 50 movies are good.' His final film was the political thriller 'The Secret Agent', in which he played a Jewish Holocaust survivor.
