German actor Udo Kier, who appeared in more than 300 films and TV shows, died on Nov. 23. He was 81. He was born in the rubble of Cologne during a bombing, and was trained in acting in London. He entered films in 1966, and by 1970 was already playing leads. Kier appeared in the Paul Morrissey films Flesh for Frankenstein and Blood for Dracula, and his films The Story of O, The Stationmaster’s Wife, the appalling Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Lulu (as Jack the Ripper), My Own Private Idaho, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, Johnny Mnemonic, and Shadow of the Vampire made him a star in the US, in addition to his countless appearances in Germany. Kier worked with such directors as Lars von Trier, Gus Van Sant, Werner Herzog, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, and Dario Argento—he also appeared in music videos of Korn and Madonna. “Personally, I'm not an ensemble actor, because it's always a lot of ego when you're all together in the scene,” Kier said. “But the actor's always as good as the stories are. And so many important things, there is the light, there is the costumes, the makeup, there's the text, there's so many elements which the actor himself cannot control. But the script is the most important thing.”
