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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.
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