Iconic German actor Udo Kier, best known for his performances in “Blood for Dracula” and “My Own Private Idaho,” has died at the age of 81.
His partner, Delbert McBride, confirmed to Variety that Kier passed away Sunday morning.
Photographer and long-time friend Michael Childers wrote on Facebook that the “Blade” star died at Eisenhower Hospital in Palm Springs, California.
Iconic German actor Udo Kier has died at 81.
A cause of death has not yet been released.
“Breaking my heart, a sad goodbye to my great friend Udo Kier… RIP,” photographer Michael Childers wrote.
Over a career spanning decades, Kier appeared in more than 250 films across Hollywood and European cinema, according to his IMDb page. He first drew widespread attention in the 1970s with his starring roles in Paul Morrissey’s “Flesh for Frankenstein” (1973) and “Blood for Dracula” (1974), both produced by cultural icon Andy Warhol.
Kier’s reputation continued to rise in Europe through his collaborations with filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder in the late 1970s and early 1980s, including “The Stationmaster’s Wife,” “The Third Generation,” and “Lili Marleen.”
Udo Kier and Jim Carrey share the screen in a scene from Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.
Kier bites down on the neck of Maxime McKendry in a scene from the 1974 film Blood for Dracula.
Kier went on to develop a long-running creative partnership with Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier beginning in the late 1980s with Epidemic. He later appeared in the 1991 film Europa and took on recurring roles in von Trier’s acclaimed horror-thriller series The Kingdom.
The collaboration continued across several of von Trier’s major works, including Breaking the Waves, Dogville, and Melancholia.
Kier eventually met future two-time Oscar nominee Gus Van Sant at the Berlin Film Festival, crediting Van Sant with helping him obtain his U.S. work permit and SAG card, according to Variety.
His breakthrough in American cinema came in 1991, when Van Sant cast him in My Own Private Idaho, in which he appeared alongside River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves.
Kier had a small role in the 1998 blockbuster Armageddon.
Throughout the 1990s, he secured several memorable supporting roles in major Hollywood hits, including Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Armageddon, and Blade.
Kier was also featured in Madonna’s 1992 book Sex and later appeared in her music videos for “Erotica” and “Deeper and Deeper,” both from her Erotica album.
In 2000, he made a notable appearance in the music video for Korn’s “Make Me Bad.”
Pamela Anderson and Udo Kier in the 1996 film Barb Wire.
Kier died Sunday at Eisenhower Hospital in Palm Springs, California.
The veteran actor, born Udo Kierspe, entered the world under extraordinary circumstances — he was born in a Cologne hospital on Oct. 14, 1944, as Allied forces were bombing the city during World War II, Variety reported.
At 18, he left Germany for London, where he would eventually meet filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder in a bar.
When asked in a 2024 Variety interview why he chose acting, Kier admitted simply that he “liked the attention.”
Over the course of his career, he received numerous honors, including a CineMerit Award, an Artistic Achievement Award, the Dublin Film Critics Award, and an Independent Spirit Award nomination.
Kier’s final film role was in the political thriller The Secret Agent, in which he portrayed a Jewish Holocaust survivor during the final years of Brazil’s military dictatorship.
According to his IMDb page, he is also slated to appear in the upcoming horror video game OD, produced by Jordan Peele and starring IT actress Sophia Lillis.
