Udo Kierspe (born 14 October 1944), known professionally as Udo Kier, is a German actor. Known primarily as a

character actor A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to b ...

, Kier has appeared in more than 220 films in both leading and supporting roles throughout Europe and the Americas. He has collaborated with acclaimed filmmakers such as

Lars von Trier Lars von Trier ('' né'' Trier; 30 April 1956) is a Danish filmmaker, actor, and lyricist. Having garnered a reputation as a highly ambitious, polarizing filmmaker, he has been the subject of several controversies: Cannes, in addition to nomina ...

, Gus Van Sant,

Werner Herzog Werner Herzog (; born 5 September 1942) is a German film director, screenwriter, author, actor, and opera director, regarded as a pioneer of New German Cinema. His films often feature ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with u ...

Rainer Werner Fassbinder Rainer Werner Fassbinder (; 31 May 1945 – 10 June 1982), sometimes credited as R. W. Fassbinder, was a German filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the major figures and catalysts of the New German Cinema movement. Fassbinder's main ...

Walerian Borowczyk Walerian Borowczyk (21 October 1923 – 3 February 2006) was an internationally known Polish film director described by film critics as a 'genius who also happened to be a pornographer'. He directed 40 films between 1946 and 1988. Borowczyk set ...

Kleber Mendonça Filho Kleber Mendonça Filho (; born 3 November 1968) is a Brazilian film director, screenwriter, producer, and critic. Life and career With a degree in journalism from the Federal University of Pernambuco, Kleber Mendonça Filho began his career as ...

Dario Argento Dario Argento (; born 7 September 1940) is an Italian film director, producer, screenwriter, actor and film critic, critic. His influential work in the horror film, horror genre during the 1970s and 1980s, particularly in the subgenre known as ...

, Charles Matton,

Guy Maddin Guy Maddin (born February 28, 1956) is a Canadian screenwriter, director, author, cinematographer, and film editor of both features and short films, as well as an installation artist, from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Since completing his first film i ...

, Alexander Payne, and Paul Morrissey.

Early life

Kier was born in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

, near the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The hospital where he was born was bombed by the invading Allied forces moments after his birth, and he and his mother had to be dug out of the rubble. He grew up without a father. In his youth, he was an

altar boy An altar server is a laity, lay assistant to a member of the clergy during a Christian liturgy. An altar server attends to supporting tasks at the altar such as fetching and carrying, ringing the altar bell, helps bring up the gifts, brings up t ...

and

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. In formal Jewish worship, a cantor is a person who sings solo verses or passages to which the choir or congregation responds. In Judaism, a cantor sings and lead ...

. He moved to London, England at the age of 18 to learn

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Career

In 1966, Kier was cast in the lead role for the film ''Road to St. Tropez''. An early starring role in Andy Warhol's Frankenstein (1973) led to a string of art-house, low-budget, and mainstream horror films, including a number of vampire-themed pictures ''Die Einsteiger'' (1985), ''

Blade A blade is the portion of a tool, weapon, or machine with an edge that is designed to puncture, chop, slice or scrape surfaces or materials. Blades are typically made from materials that are harder than those they are to be used on. Historic ...

'' (1998), ''

Modern Vampires ''Modern Vampires'' (also known as ''Revenant'') is a 1998 American black comedy-horror film written by Matthew Bright, directed by Richard Elfman and starring Casper Van Dien, Natasha Gregson Wagner, Kim Cattrall, Natasha Lyonne, Udo Kier and R ...

'' (1998), ''

Shadow of the Vampire ''Shadow of the Vampire'' is a 2000 independent meta period horror comedy film directed by E. Elias Merhige, written by Steven Katz, and starring John Malkovich and Willem Dafoe. It is a fictionalized account of the making of the classi ...

'' (2000), ''

Dracula 3000 ''Dracula 3000'' (stylized as ''DRACULA.3000'', and also known as ''Dracula 3000: Infinite Darkness'') is a 2004 made-for-television science fiction horror film directed by Darrell Roodt. An international co-production of the United States and ...

'' and ''

BloodRayne ''BloodRayne'' is a media franchise that originated with an action-adventure video game series originally developed by Terminal Reality and published by Majesco Entertainment which began with the game of the same name in 2002. The franchise ...

'' (2005). He has also become famous for his work with cult directors, including

, Gus Van Sant,

Christoph Schlingensief Christoph Maria Schlingensief (24 October 1960 – 21 August 2010) was a German theatre director, performance artist, and filmmaker. Starting as an independent underground filmmaker, Schlingensief later staged productions for theatres and festivals ...

, and

(whose classic '' Suspiria'' (1977) he was featured in). He has appeared in almost all of

's movies since 1987's ''

Epidemic An epidemic (from Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time. Epidemics of infectious ...

'' (with the exceptions of ''

The Idiots ''The Idiots'' ( da, Idioterne) is a 1998 Danish dark comedy-drama film written and directed by Lars von Trier. It is his first film made in compliance with the Dogme 95 Manifesto, and is also known as Dogme #2. It is the second film in von Tr ...

'', ''

The Boss of it All ''The Boss of It All'' ( da, Direktøren for det hele) is a 2006 experimental comedy film written and directed by Lars von Trier. The film uses a cinematic technique invented by von Trier himself called Automavision, which automatically determin ...

'', ''

Antichrist In Christian eschatology, the Antichrist refers to people prophesied by the Bible to oppose Jesus Christ and substitute themselves in Christ's place before the Second Coming. The term Antichrist (including one plural form)1 John ; . 2 John . ...

'' and '' The House That Jack Built''). His most famous Hollywood roles include his appearance as Ron Camp in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994), Curly in ''

Barb Wire Barb Wire may refer to: * Barb wire, a fencing material * Barb Wire (character), a comic book superhero published by Dark Horse Comics * ''Barb Wire'' (1996 film), starring Pamela Anderson, based on the comic book * ''Barb Wire'' (pinball), pinb ...

'', as a

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

flight psychologist in ''

Armageddon According to the Book of Revelation in the New Testament of the Christian Bible, Armageddon (, from grc, Ἁρμαγεδών ''Harmagedōn'', Late Latin: , from Hebrew: ''Har Məgīddō'') is the prophesied location of a gathering of armies ...

'', as the villainous Lorenzini in ''

The Adventures of Pinocchio ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' ( ; it, Le avventure di Pinocchio ; commonly shortened to ''Pinocchio'') is a children's fantasy novel by Italian author Carlo Collodi. It is about the mischievous adventures of an animated marionette named Pi ...

'' and 1999 sequel '' The New Adventures of Pinocchio'', and as Ralfi in the film ''

Johnny Mnemonic "Johnny Mnemonic" is a science fiction short story by American-Canadian writer William Gibson. It first appeared in '' Omni'' magazine in May 1981, and was subsequently included in ''Burning Chrome'', a 1986 collection of Gibson's short fiction. ...

''. His music video work includes

Madonna's Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

Deeper and Deeper "Deeper and Deeper" is a song by American singer Madonna from her fifth studio album, '' Erotica'' (1992). It was written and produced by both Madonna and Shep Pettibone, with additional writing from Anthony Shimkin. In Australia and most Eur ...

" from the album ''Erotica'',

Korn Korn (stylized as KoЯn, or occasionally KoRn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, formed in 1993. The band is notable for pioneering the nu metal genre and bringing it into the mainstream. Originally formed in 1993 ...

's "Make Me Bad", Eve's "

Let Me Blow Ya Mind "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" is a song by American rapper Eve, featuring American singer Gwen Stefani. It was released on April 2, 2001, as the second and final single from Eve's second album, ''Scorpion'' (2001). It became Eve's highest-charting sing ...

", and "Die Schöne und das Biest" by defunct German band Rauhfaser. He has also worked extensively as a voice actor, starring as the psychic

Yuri Yuri may refer to: People and fictional characters Given name *Yuri (Slavic name), the Slavic masculine form of the given name George, including a list of people with the given name Yuri, Yury, etc. *Yuri (Japanese name), also Yūri, feminine Jap ...

(as well as the voice of the PsiCorps) in '' Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2'' and its expansion, ''

Yuri's Revenge ''Command & Conquer: Yuri's Revenge'' is an expansion pack to '' Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2'' developed by Westwood Studios. The game was released in North America on October 10, 2001The Music Master'' in ''

Justice League The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceived ...

'', Herbert Ziegler in ''

The Batman Batman is a fictional superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. Batman or The Batman may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media Characters * Batman (Terry McGinnis) * Batman (Thomas Wayne) * Batman (Earth-Two) * Batma ...

'', Ivan Bahn in '' Metropia'', Professor Pericles as well as a Shadowy Figure in ''

Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated ''Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated'' (also known as ''Mystery Incorporated'' or ''Scooby-Doo! Mystery, Inc.'') is an American animated television series that serves as the eleventh incarnation of the ''Scooby-Doo'' media franchise created by Han ...

'', Mister Toad in ''

Beware the Batman ''Beware the Batman'' is an American computer-animated television series based on the DC Comics superhero Batman. The series premiered in the United States on Cartoon Network on July 13, 2013, as part of their DC Nation block, replacing ''Batman: ...

'', Warden in ''

Axe Cop ''Axe Cop'' is a webcomic by brothers Malachai Nicolle (age 5 when the series began) and Ethan Nicolle (age 28 when the series began). Malachai is responsible for the ideas and stories, while Ethan turns them into comics. The first four comics w ...

'', Head Vampire Vampire in ''

Major Lazer Major Lazer is an American electronic dance music DJ trio, which includes record producer Diplo, and DJs Walshy Fire and Ape Drums. It originates from Kingston, Jamaica, and was founded in 2008 by Diplo and Switch, with Switch leaving after ...

'', Dylan Beekler's Backpack in ''

Golan the Insatiable ''Golan the Insatiable'' is an American animated television series that originally aired on Fox on November 23, 2013 along with '' Lucas Bros. Moving Co.''; it officially premiered on January 11, 2014. It was created by Josh Miller and developed ...

'' and Dr. Peter Straub in '' Call of Duty: WWII''. A documentary on his life and career entitled ''ICH-UDO...der Schauspieler Udo Kier'' (''ME –UDO...the actor Udo Kier'') was filmed for

Arte Arte (; (), sometimes stylized in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European public service channel dedicated to culture. It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based European Economic Interest Grouping ARTE, plus ...

, the European Franco-German culture channel, and released in 2012. In 2013, the documentary won the New York Festival "Finalist Certificate".

Personal life

Kier is gay, and has been open about his homosexuality his entire life. "No one ever asked about my sexuality. Maybe it was obvious, but it didn't make any difference because all that mattered was the role I was playing. As long as I did a good job on the part, no one cared about my sexuality." He moved to Palm Springs, California, United States, in 1991.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Music videos

* '' Madonna: Erotica'' (1992) - Partyguest * '' Madonna: Deeper and Deeper'' (1992) - Lover * ''Goo Goo Dolls: Naked'' (1996) - Himself * '' Supertramp: You Win, I Lose'' (1997) - Partyguest * ''Rauhfaser: Die Schone und das Biest'' (1999) - Der Freier * ''Korn: Make Me Bad'' (2000) - Himself * ''Eve feat. Gwen Stefani: Let Me Blow Ya Mind'' (2001) - Partyguest * ''RMB: Deep Down Below'' (2001) - Dr. Wagner * ''Terranova: Prayer'' (2012) - Himself - Musician

References

External links

* *
Udo Kier
at the German Dubbing Card Index {{DEFAULTSORT:Kier, Udo 1944 births Living people 20th-century LGBT people Actors from Cologne American gay actors German expatriates in the United Kingdom German expatriates in the United States German male film actors German male television actors German male voice actors LGBT people from California German gay actors Male actors from Palm Springs, California People from the Rhine Province 20th-century German male actors 21st-century German male actors