Hollywood and European cinema have lost a giant.
Veteran German actor Udo Kier, famous for his unforgettable eyes and decades of iconic villain roles, has died at the age of 81. His partner, Delbert McBride, confirmed he passed away on Sunday morning in a Palm Springs hospital. No cause of death was revealed, according to The Guardian.
Kier appeared in over 275 films, working with major names like Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Gus Van Sant and Lars von Trier. He starred in movies, TV shows, music videos and even video games — often playing eerie, intense, or outright terrifying characters. From vampires to Nazi officers, Kier’s presence was always unmistakable.
Born in Germany in 1944, his life began with drama: just hours after his birth, the hospital was bombed and he had to be rescued from the ruins. He grew up in post-war poverty and worked in a factory as a teenager before fate pushed him toward acting. He was discovered in London, and in 1970, he landed his breakthrough role in Mark of the Devil.
His career became a long string of chance encounters. Sitting next to director Paul Morrissey on a flight earned him starring roles in Flesh for Frankenstein (1973) and Blood for Dracula (1974). His friendship with Fassbinder landed him multiple roles, including Lola, The Stationmaster’s Wife and the classic series Berlin Alexanderplatz.
Lars von Trier later became one of his longest collaborators, casting him in Breaking the Waves, Dancer in the Dark, Melancholia, Nymphomaniac, and more. Kier was even godfather to Von Trier’s son.
In the 90s, Hollywood opened its doors to him. He appeared in hits like Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Johnny Mnemonic, Armageddon, End of Days, and Blade. Madonna also cast him in her book Sex and in multiple music videos, after being impressed with his performance in My Own Private Idaho.
Kier kept working nonstop in his later years, starring in films like Brawl in Cell Block 99, Dragged Across Concrete, and the 2022 comedy Swan Song, where he played a flamboyant retired hairdresser making one last dramatic comeback.
Reflecting on his massive body of work, Kier once joked:
“100 movies are bad, 50 movies you can watch with a glass of wine, and 50 movies are good.”
His final film is The Secret Agent, where he plays a Jewish Holocaust survivor. He is also set to appear posthumously in OD, the upcoming horror video game project by Hideo Kojima and Jordan Peele.
