Udo Kier
From trash to blockbusters: the charismatic actor with the intense gaze turned 80
Udo Kier, the charismatic actor with an intense gaze and expressive, exalted performance, celebrated his 80th birthday on 14 October 2024.
Kier has appeared in indie productions, blockbusters and arthouse films, shot with Lars von Trier, Christoph Schlingensief and Werner Herzog, made his mark on experimental short films, played trash and cinematic art and appeared in blockbusters such as Michael Bay's ‘Armageddon’.
Munich, London, Berlin, Rome, Paris, Los Angeles, Palm Springs: Kier lived in glamourous places and yet always remained the working-class boy from Cologne with his typical Rhineland singsong accent. He was born in Cologne-Mülheim, where he grew up, where he went to school and did an apprenticeship, and where he met Rainer Werner Fassbinder, also a 15-year-old student, in a working-class pub. He later played in Fassbinder's film ‘Bolwieser’, and his performance as a demonic, seductive hairdresser who seduces a customer (Elisabeth Trissenaar) became legendary. Udo Kier made around 200 films during his long career.
Udo Kier
From trash to blockbusters: the charismatic actor with the intense gaze turned 80
Udo Kier, the charismatic actor with an intense gaze and expressive, exalted performance, celebrated his 80th birthday on 14 October 2024.
Kier has appeared in indie productions, blockbusters and arthouse films, shot with Lars von Trier, Christoph Schlingensief and Werner Herzog, made his mark on experimental short films, played trash and cinematic art and appeared in blockbusters such as Michael Bay's ‘Armageddon’.
Munich, London, Berlin, Rome, Paris, Los Angeles, Palm Springs: Kier lived in glamourous places and yet always remained the working-class boy from Cologne with his typical Rhineland singsong accent. He was born in Cologne-Mülheim, where he grew up, where he went to school and did an apprenticeship, and where he met Rainer Werner Fassbinder, also a 15-year-old student, in a working-class pub. He later played in Fassbinder's film ‘Bolwieser’, and his performance as a demonic, seductive hairdresser who seduces a customer (Elisabeth Trissenaar) became legendary. Udo Kier made around 200 films during his long career.