Udo Kier, striking German actor from 'My Own Private Idaho' and 'Ace Ventura,' dies at 81

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. – Udo Kier, the German actor whose icy gaze and strange, scene-stealing screen presence made him a favorite of filmmakers including Andy Warhol, Gus Van Sant and Lars von Trier, has died at 81.

His partner, artist Delbert McBride, told Variety that Kier died on Sunday in Palm Springs, California.

A longtime arthouse favorite, Kier also had an unlikely run as a character actor in Hollywood blockbusters including “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective” with Jim Carrey.

The most recent of Kier's more than 200 credits in a nearly 60-year career was this year's Brazilian political thriller “The Secret Agent,” which could vie for Oscars and other major awards in the coming season.

Kier had his breakout as the star of two films produced by Warhol and directed by Paul Morrissey: 1973's “Flesh for Frankenstein” and 1974's “Blood for Dracula.”

German director Rainer Werner Fassbinder put Kier in several films later in the decade, including “The Stationmaster’s Wife” and “The Third Generation.”

Kier was introduced to many American moviegoers through Van Sant's 1991 film “My Own Private Idaho,” starring River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves. Madonna, a fan of that film, invited Kier to appear in photos for her 1992 culture-shaking book “Sex,” and in the video for her song “Deeper and Deeper.”

Kier credited Van Sant with getting him a U.S. work permit and a Screen Actors Guild card.

Those documents allowed him to bring his arresting presence to several Hollywood films of the 1990s, including “Armageddon,” “Blade,” “Barb Wire” and “Johnny Mnemonic.”

He was a constant collaborator with von Trier, starring in the Danish director's television series “The Kingdom” and appearing in the films “Dancer in the Dark,” “Dogville” and “Melancholia.”

Kier was born Udo Kierspe in Cologne, Germany, in 1944, as Allied forces bombed the city during World War II.

He moved at age 18 to London, where he was discovered at a coffee bar by singer and future filmmaker Michael Sarne.

“I liked the attention, so I became an actor,” Kier told Variety last year.

People noticing him for his striking presence and approaching him became a lifelong pattern.

“I have never asked a director, ‘I would like to work with you,’” he said.

Kier had lived in the Palm Springs area since the early 1990s, and was a regular and frequent party host at its annual film festival.