Udo Kier, Prolific Character Actor โof ‘My Own โPrivate Idaho’ and Warhol’s โ’Frankenstein,’ Dies at 81
Udoโ Kier, a strikingly versatile actor whose career spannedโ six decades and encompassed art-house masterpieces and mainstream Hollywood fare, has died.โฃ He was 81. Kier passed away March 29, 2024, in Los Angeles, according to Variety. His distinctive presence andโ willingness to โembrace โchallenging roles madeโ him a favourite ofโ filmmakers including rainerโข Werner Fassbinder, Lars vonโ Trier, and Gus van Sant.
That pair of films โmade Kier famous, and he spent the next two decades working โthrough Europe and collaborating withโฃ legendary writer-director Rainer โฃWerner Fassbinder on films like “The Stationmaster’s Wife,” “The Third Generation” โand “Lili Marleen.” โthen, at the Berlin Film Festival, Kier met future two-time โOscar-nominated director Gus van Sant, whoโข Kier credits with securing โฃhim anโ American work permit and aโ SAG card.โฃ
In 1991, Vanโ Sant widely introduced Kierโค to American audiences with his coming-of-age drama “My Own Private Idaho,” loosely based on โShakespeare’s “Henry โIV.” Kier appeared in a supporting role โalongside โขstars Riverโค Phoenix and Keanu reeves. Around the same time, Kier began his lifelong collaboration โคwith von Trier. Starting in the late ’80s with “Epidemic,” โKier appearedโ in the 1991 filmโข “Europa” before appearing in several episodes of von Trier’s long-running horror-thriller series “The Kingdom” through the ’90sโฃ and aughts. Their other film collaborations include “Breaking โthe Waves,” “Dancer in the Dark,” “Dogville,” “Melancholia” and “Nymphomaniac: Vol. II.”
The 1990s also saw Kier in several supporting roles in โฃmajor Hollywood productions, such as “Ace Ventura:โ Pet Detective,”โ “Armageddon” โand “Blade.” He also appeared in Madonna’s book “Sex” in 1992, and made appearances inโ her music videos โfor “Erotica” and “Deeper and Deeper” from her album “Erotica.” More recently, Kier appeared in Kleber Mendonรงa Filho’s awards darling “The Secretโ Agent.” The film earned star Wagner Moura the honor for best actor at the โ2025โ Cannes Film Festival.
Born โUdo Kierspe in Cologne,Germany,in a hospital that was being bombed by Allied Forces,he โmovedโค to London at 18 after meeting Fassbinder in a โbar. “I liked the attention, so I became an actor,”โข he told Variety’s Peter Debruge inโค a 2024โ interview. โAfter working between Europe and the U.S. forโข many decades, Kierโฃ settled in Los Angeles and Palm Springs, where he lived in a former mid-century library and cultivated interests in โคart, architecture โฃand collecting. He was a fixture at the Palmโ Springs Film โขFestival, whereโฃ he warmlyโ received accolades from fans.