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German actor Udo Kier has died at the age of 81, it has been confirmed. His career spanned seven decades, through which time he worked for several notable directors , and became particularly beloved for his work in the horror genre.
While Kier’s earliest acting roles began his career in the late 1960s, his break came in the early ‘70s. In 1973, he starred for filmmaker Paul Morrissey in Andy Warhol’s Flesh For Frankenstein, as Baron Von Frankenstein; a year later, he re-teamed with Morrissey for 1974’s Blood For Dracula, playing Count Dracula. In 1977, he played a brief role in Dario Argento’s Suspiria. He later returned to vampire mythology as elder bloodsucker Gitano Dragonetti in 1998’s Blade, and his horror career continued into the 2000s when he appeared in Rob Zombie’s Halloween remake, also teaming up with Zombie for the ‘Werewolf Women Of The SS’ fake trailer in Grindhouse.
One of Kier’s most enduring collaborative partnerships was with Lars von Trier; he featured in eight of the Danish director’s projects, starting with Epidemic, followed by Europa, The Kingdom, Breaking The Waves, Dancer In The Dark, Dogville, Melancholia, and the second volume of Nymphomaniac. He also starred for Gus Van Sant in My Own Private Idaho, for Werner Herzog in My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done?, and worked twice with S. Craig Zahler, on Brawl In Cell Block 99 and Dragged Across Concrete.
During his career, Kier appeared in 1994 comedy favourite Ace Ventura: Pet Detective as exotic animal collector Ron Camp; he worked with Madonna on her infamous Sex book (after she’d seen him in My Own Private Idaho) and her music videos for ‘Erotica’ and ‘Deeper And Deeper’; he featured in the Command And Conquer: Red Alert video games; and he was working with Hideo Kojima and Jordan Peele on video game OD. He took the leading role in Todd Stephen’s 2021 drama Swan Song, while his final film performance will be seen in upcoming thriller The Secret Agent.
Kier’s work was prolific, making him a cult star – and his impact will continue to be felt for many years to come. Our thoughts are with his friends, family, and loved ones.
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