Udo Kier, Acclaimed Actor, Dies at 81

Udo Kier, the German actor renowned for his chilling portrayals of eccentric villains and his collaborations with directors such as Gus Van Sant and Lars von Trier, died on Sunday in Palm Springs, California. He was 81.

His partner, artist Delbert McBride, confirmed the death to Variety. No cause was disclosed, and information about survivors was not immediately available.

Kier amassed more than 200 credits over a nearly six-decade career that bridged European arthouse cinema and Hollywood blockbusters. Born Udo Kierspe on October 14, 1944, in Cologne, Germany, he entered the world amid Allied bombing raids on the city during World War II. His mother, Thekla, survived the attack on the hospital where he was born, though his father had left before his arrival. Raised in poverty, Kier worked in a factory as a teenager before moving to London at age 18 to study English.

There, he was spotted at a coffee bar by British singer and filmmaker Michael Sarne, who cast him in his 1966 short film Road to Saint Tropez as a male escort. That chance encounter launched his acting life. "I liked the attention, so I became an actor," Kier said in a 2024 interview with Variety. He noted that...