Udo Kier

Kier was born in Cologne, near the end of World War II. The hospital where he was born was bombed moments after his birth, and he and his mother had to be dug out of the rubble.[3][4] He grew up without a father.[5] In his youth, he was an altar boy[6] and cantor. He moved to the United Kingdom at the age of 18 to learn the English language.[1]

Kier at the press conference of Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot at Berlinale 2018

In 1966, Kier was cast in the lead role for the film Road to St. Tropez.[7][8] 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 (1998), Modern Vampires (1998), Shadow of the Vampire (2000), Dracula 3000 and Bloodrayne (2005). He has also become famous for his work with cult directors, including Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Walerian Borowczyk, Gus Van Sant, Christoph Schlingensief, and Dario Argento (whose classic Suspiria (1977) he was featured in). He has appeared in almost all of Lars von Trier's movies since 1987's Epidemic (with the exceptions of The Idiots, The Boss of it All, Antichrist and The House That Jack Built).

His most famous Hollywood roles include his appearance as Ron Camp in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994),[9] Curly in Barb Wire, as a NASA flight psychologist in Armageddon,[10][11] as the villainous Lorenzini in The Adventures of Pinocchio and 1999 sequel The New Adventures of Pinocchio, and as Ralfi in the film Johnny Mnemonic. His music video work includes Madonna's "Deeper and Deeper" from the album Erotica,[12] Korn's "Make Me Bad", Eve's "Let Me Blow Ya Mind", 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 in Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 and its expansion, Yuri's Revenge. He also voiced Professor Pericles in Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated.

A documentary on his life and career entitled ICH-UDO...der Schauspieler Udo Kier (ME –UDO...the actor Udo Kier) was filmed for Arte, the European Franco-German culture channel, and released in 2012.[13] In 2013, the documentary won the New York Festival "Finalist Certificate".[14]

Kier is openly gay.[5] Kier and German director Rainer Werner Fassbinder were teenage lovers and street hustlers in Frankfurt's gay scene during the 1960s.[15]

He moved to Palm Springs, California, United States, in 1991.[7][16][17]

• Tons May. "The Other Face of Love: Udo Kier's Career in the Erotic Genre" in Jack Stevenson (ed), Fleshpot: Cinema's Sexual Myth Makers and Taboo Breakers. Manchester: Critical Vision/Headpress, 2002, pp. 141–58 and "Udo Speaks: An Interview with Udo Kier" in same volume, pp. 159–62.

• Official website
• Udo Kier at IMDb
• Udo Kier at the German Dubbing Card Index