Udo Kier, the German actor who starred in over 200 films, has died aged 81.
Kier, who appeared in 275 roles including in My Own Private Idaho, Blade, Armageddon, and Dogville, as well as Madonna music videos and video games, died on Sunday morning, his partner Delbert McBride confirmed to Variety. Photographer Michael Childers took to social media to say Kier died in hospital in Palm Springs, California. A cause of death has not yet been revealed.
The horror film specialist had a breakout role in 1970’s Mark of the Devil, before being cast as Frankenstein in 1973’s Flesh for Frankenstein, then Dracula in 1974’s Blood for Dracula — both produced by artist Andy Warhol. His first American role came in 1991 film My Own Private Idaho, which starred River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves. Madonna, a fan of Kier’s work, cast him in her music videos for Erotica and Deeper and Deeper. Later notable roles came in the likes of Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Johnny Mnemonic, Armageddon, End of Days, and Blade. Kier’s final film was the political thriller The Secret Agent, in which he played a Jewish Holocaust survivor caught in the final years of the Brazilian military dictatorship.
As well as starring in hundreds of films, Kier was no stranger to the world of video games. He famously played Yuri in the live-action cutscenes that formed a part of Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2’s story, and reprised the role in 2001’s Command & Conquer: Yuri’s Revenge.
RIP Udo Kier, who passed away today at the age of 81.
His performance as Yuri in Red Alert 2 has always stuck with me, and it’s one I constantly reference. I’m sad we won’t get to see you in Kojima’s OD but thank you for the great memories. pic.twitter.com/d8Y2ZBmV5r
— Bucky | Palworld (@Bucky_cm) November 24, 2025
Later, he had voice roles in 2017’s Call of Duty: WWII, and 2022’s Martha is Dead. He was set to appear in OD, the upcoming horror video game by Hideo Kojima and producer Jordan Peele, and indeed was a part of its teaser trailer, below, showing initial face scan work. It is unclear whether Kier will now be recast in the upcoming Microsoft game.
Kojima took to social media to pay tribute to Kier, expressing his shock at the news.
“I’m at a loss for words,” Kojima said. “It all happened far too suddenly. Because of the strike, we weren’t able to shoot OD for a long time, and we were forced to reschedule to next year. Even during that time, Udo and I exchanged emails frequently. We stayed in close contact. When we met in Milan at the end of September, he told me how much he was looking forward to the shoot starting up again next year. He was full of energy then too, making me laugh with his usual ‘Udo-isms.’
“I still can’t believe this. Udo wasn’t just an actor. He was truly an ‘icon’ of his time. We’ve lost a great ‘icon.’ There will never be another like him. Udo, rest in peace. I will never forget you.”
The tweet video below, shows Kojima and Kier together in Milan in September.
With Udo Kier. pic.twitter.com/6tdXYLY8aW
— HIDEO_KOJIMA (@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN) September 26, 2025
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
