Udo Kier



Udo Kier (b. 1944) is a German-born film actor, though his credits cover a wide international range, often in horror films (often with sexual/exploitative edges) or villainous roles. He played the fire-eating puppetmaster Lorenzini in the 1996 Creature Shop-effects film The Adventures of Pinocchio.

Kier's long and diverse cinema career began in the late 1960s in Italian and German-produced efforts, notably the English-language Mark of the Devil (1970, as second lead to Herbert Lom). He soon played key, and characterist, roles as maniacal deviants in the Andy Warhol produced Frankenstein (as Baron Dr. Frankenstein) and Dracula (the title role). Kier also starred in the 1975 French film version of The Story of O, followed by Dario Argento's Suspiria (as psychologist Dr. Mandel, providing exposition), Docteur Jekyll et les femmes (as Dr. Jekyll), and more, including a 1989 turn as Adolf Hitler. In the 1980s, Kier began a long association with director Lars von Trier, including 1988's Medea (as Jason), Zentropa, Dogville (with Lauren Bacall), and the Danish TV series Riget (The Kingdom, which also featured Holger Perfort), as the shadowy, monstrous doctor Aage Krüger, among other projects.

Kier has also appeared in more mainstream indie or genre films, even the Jim Carrey comedy Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (as party host Ron Camp) as well as Johnny Mnemonic, Armageddon, Blade (as elder vampire Dragonetti), Rob Zombie's 2007 Halloween remake, and cameos in Gus Van Sant's My Own Private Idaho and Even Cowgirls Get the Blues. TV credits include showy guest turns on SeaQuest 2032, Nash Bridges, Tracey Takes On, the German series Tatort, and Chuck, as well as guest voices on Justice League and The Batman.