Udo Kier, the German actor known for his imposing presence and his participation in hundreds of cult films, by directors such as Lars von Trier, Gus Van Sant, Werner Herzog and Rainer Werner Fassbinder, has died at the age of 81. His partner, Delbert McBride, has confirmed the death.
Especially remembered for his role as Count Dracula in ‘Blood for Dracula’ (1974), Udo Kier specialized in playing dark and depraved supporting characters, including Adolf Hitler himself in one of his most recent works, ‘Iron Sky: The Coming Race’ (2019). Coincidentally, when Kier was born in 1944, at the end of World War II, his hospital was bombed and he and his mother had to be rescued from the rubble.
Kier’s natural presence led him to play more than one vampire, also in the transgressive ‘Flesh for Frankenstein’ (1973), and his different characters in ‘Suspiria’ (1977) by Dario Argento, ‘The Third Generation’ by Fassbinder (1979), ‘My Own Private Idaho’ (1991) by Van Sant or ‘Zentropa’ (1991) by Von Trier – of villains, aristocrats or mad scientists – were equally eccentric or decadent, if not antagonistic. His latest work is ‘The Secret Agent’ (2025) by Kleber Mendonça Filho.
One of Kier’s most memorable recent roles is that of an extravagant hairdresser in ‘Swan Song’ (2021). It was, at then 77 years old, his first leading role.
Kier, who shot around 220 films in both Europe and the United States, and also dubbed films, series and video games, also collaborated with musical artists. Her elegant presence attracted the attention of Madonna, who asked Kier to pose with her in her controversial book ‘Sex’ (1991). Kier also appeared in the music videos for ‘Erotica’ and ‘Deeper and Deeper’. Kier also appeared in the videos for ‘Make Me Bad’ by Korn and ‘Let Me Blow Ya Mind’ by Eve and Gwen Stefani.
