THE RELEVANT QUEER: Udo Kier, Iconic Cult Actor, Born October 14, 1944

“In front of a camera you can do what you want and you can get paid for it.”

TRQ: Udo Kier, Born October 14, 1944

Udo Kier, an openly gay actor who has starred in over 250 films, was born in Cologne, Germany on October 14, 1944. In the 1960s, Kier started as a hustler in Frankfurt with his lover director Rainer Werner Fassbinder. He has since built his career as a cult film star working alongside Keanu Reeves, Madonna, Bjork, Pamela Anderson, Jim Carrey and Rob Zombie, and collaborating with filmmakers and directors like Gus van Sant, Werner Herzog and Dario Argento. After starring in Andy Warhol’s Frankenstein (1974) alongside Joe Dallesandro, Kier has appeared in such iconic films as My Own Private Idaho(1991), Suspiria(1977), Europa(1991) and The Story of O(1975).

Kier’s birth was like a movie scene. Minutes after he was born, the hospital was bombed. Mother and son had to be rescued from the ruins.

He once explained, “I had such a horrible childhood. My father was already married with three children when I was born, and my mother didn’t know. So we grew up poor. We had no hot water until I was 17.”

Kier, who worked at a factory during the day, met Fassbinder in a working-class bar in Cologne. Underage hustlers, they spent their evening hours drinking Coca-Cola while people watching.

Kier saved money until he could afford to move to England. Living in London at 18, he attended St. Giles School on Oxford Street to learn English. Kier was discovered in a coffee bar. Despite having no wish to be an actor, he appeared in Michael Sarne’s Road to Saint Tropez (1966) as a gigolo.

“I never wanted to be an actor. I just wanted to learn languages and travel and see the world.”

-Udo Kier

From the start, Kier took on edgy and dark roles in cult movies that have defined his career. In 1970, he appeared in his first notable film, Mark of the Devil(1970) by Michael Armstrong. Banned in 31 countries for its exploitation of sex and violence, marketers claimed the movie was “Rated V for Violence.”

Three years later, on an airplane, Kier met director Paul Morrissey, who offered the actor leading roles in two films directed for Andy Warhol: 3-D Flesh for Frankenstein (1973) and Blood for Dracula(1974). Both were rated X, and Kier’s role as Dracula is one of his most well-known.

Though Kier appeared in Dario Argento’s Suspiria (1977), technical difficulties with the sound required his vocal performance to be dubbed over by another actor.

“I was so scared thinking ‘I have to go to bed with Keanu Reeves and River Phoenix?’ My friends back in Germany said, ‘Fuck you!’”

-Udo Kier

Kier reconnected and first worked with Fassbinder on The Stationmaster’s Wife (1977), a project for television. They continued to work together on Lili Marleen (1981) and Lola (1981). He also gained more visibility in the US with roles in moves like Moscow on the Hudson(1984) with Robin Williams, and Epidemic (1987).

In 1991, Kier broke through with his role in Gus Van Sant’s critically acclaimed My Own Private Idaho.

“I was in Berlin and a young director came up to me and said: ‘Hello. my name is Gus van Sant; I have a little film’. I would never say to any director I would like to work with you.”

The film stars River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves as hustlers who prostitute themselves to Kier’s character, Hans. Kier performs the song “Der Adler” for the soundtrack, a song for which he wrote the lyrics.

Impressed with his work in Private Idaho, Madonna hired Kier for her Sex book and the “Deeper and Deeper” music video from the Erotica album. Working with Steven Meisel, Madonna laid out for Kier the role she wanted him to play in the project.

“I understood very quickly what she wanted—she wanted me to play her decadent husband. We shot in a nightclub with naked men, riding on naked men,” Kier has said.

“So, we did that and then I came back to Los Angeles and her manager called and said: ‘Are you ready for hardcore sex?’ So I went to New York again and said, ‘How far can I go?’

She told me to do whatever I wanted. And you don’t say that to me.”

“Immediately I went around and there were these high heeled, provocation shoes, and I asked if I could put champagne in one so it looks like piss and hang in a sling and drink piss out of the shoe. She told me to go ahead. We had a good time!”

Two years later he reunited with Van Sant and Reeves to work with Uma Thurman on Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (1993). The film, a critical and commercial failure, explores queer culture, animal rights, and religion.

Through the 90s Kier worked alongside Jim Carrey in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994), Pamela Anderson in Barb Wire (1996), Ben Affleck in Armageddon (1998), and Arnold Schwarzenegger in End of Days (1999).

In 2000, he worked with Bjork on Dancer in the Dark. In 2003, he appeared in Dogville with Nicole Kidman.

“I always tell people that I’m a lucky man… A lot of the directors I’ve worked with were not well-known at the time, but the magic was already there. And most of them I have not met through agents.”

-Udo Kier

Kier continues to work full time, most often in Europe. He enjoys life away from the paparazzi, often in his garden in Palm Springs, California.

About the Authors:

Troy Wise is currently a PhD student at UAL Central St Martins and teaches fashion and graphic design at London College of Contemporary Arts. His background is in marketing and he is founder and co-editor of Image Amplified. He lives in, and is continually fascinated by, the city of London.

Rick Guzman earned his most recent MA at UAL Central St Martins in Applied Imagination in the Creative Industries. He currently holds two MA’s and an MBA in the New Media, Journalism and International Business fields. Co-editor at Image Amplified since its start, he lives in London, is fascinated by history and is motivated by continuing to learn and explore.

*

Sources:

The Guardian

Irish Times

Fandango

Showbiz Junkies

Dazed Digital

Film Portal

Hollywood Soapbox