A Look Back at Udo Kier’s Iconic Life in Pictures
You’ve seen his eyes before, even if you never knew his name. Udo Kier, the cult character actor who passed away on November 23, 2025 at the age of 81, left behind a singular career that ranged from the most experimental arthouse films to big box-office action films. He had roles in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Marvel’s first Blade movie, and supporting roles in action films starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Pamela Anderson and Keanu Reeves. But he was also a near-constant presence in the work of misanthropic Danish auteur Lars Von Trier (a frequent collaborator of Gus Van Sant’s) and began his career starring in Andy Warhol-produced, low-budget horror films. If none of those ring a bell, perhaps you remember him from his music video appearances during Madonna’s Erotica era or even as one of the befuddled partygoers in Eve and Gwen Stefani’s “Let Me Blow Ya Mind” video.
Born in Cologne, Germany, in 1944, Kier moved to London at the age of 18 and soon began taking on roles in projects like Paul Morrissey’s Andy Warhol-produced arty takes on Frankenstein and Dracula. That set the stage for a career in which Kier would move frequently between arthouse and blockbusters and across genres, languages, countries, and levels of prestige.
Kier was also openly gay throughout his entire career, during a time when even character and supporting actors had to hide their sexualities. Fittingly, one of Kier’s few leading roles was 2021’s Swan Song, a touching ode to gay elders co-starring Jennifer Coolidge that earned him one of his only major competitive acting award nominations at the Independent Spirit Awards. But he’s still likely the only person to have a Special Teddy award from the Berlin Film Festival for his work in arthouse cinema and an inclusion in the Fangoria Hall of Fame for his work in horror. He contributed his last work to Brazilia director Kleber Mendonça Filho’s The Secret Agent, a hit at Cannes that is expected to feature in this year’s Oscar race.
Kier appeared in 1974 as the titular Count in Paul Morrissey’s Blood for Dracula, produced by Andy Warhol.
He also played Baron von Frankenstein in Morrissey’s Flesh for Frankenstein, opposite frequent Warhol muse Joe Dallesandro.
In 1975, Kier starred in Story of O, a steamy erotic French thriller.
Here, Kier appears in a 1978 short film as a David Bowie pastiche.
Kier appeared as Hans in Gus Van Sant’s My Own Private Idaho, a landmark film in America’s new queer cinema movement.
Kier had a role in the 1995 live-action version of Pinocchio, which starred Jonathan Taylor Thomas as the lead puppet boy.
Kier went bald to play “Curly” in the 1998 Pamela Anderson vehicle Barb Wire, a film that was much maligned at the time but now retains a sort of cult status.
Kier appeared opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1999’s End of Days.
At the 2000 premiere of Shadow of the Vampire, with his co-star Willem Dafoe and producer Nicolas Cage.
Tilda Swinton’s first-ever lead role was in the 1986 apocalyptic melodrama Egomania: Island Without Hope. Her co-star? Kier, of course. The pair reunited at the 2003 AFI Fest.
In 2009, Keir and Chloë Sevigny both appeared in Werner Herzog’s My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done.
Kier appeared in almost all of Lars Von Trier’s projects, including the Kirsten Dunst-starring Melancholia.
In 2017, Kier co-starred with Matt Damon in Alexander Payne’s Downsizing.
Kier appeared with Jennifer Coolidge in 2021’s Swan Song. He plays a hairdresser and former drag queen who breaks out of his retirement home for one final trip to the gay bar.
More recently, Kier (finally!) caught the attention of the fashion industry. He sat in the front row at Alexander McQueen’s fall 2024 show.
His final public appearance was at Bottega Veneta’s spring 2026 show in Milan.
