He was a familiar figure to moviegoers and gamers alike. German actor Udo Kier died this Sunday morning at the age of 81, according to confirmation from his companion Delbert McBride relayed by Variety. The causes of his death have not been made public.
Known for his piercing gaze, his inimitable accent and his often chilling roles, Udo Kier has left his mark on the history of genre cinema, but also that of video games, with an impressive filmography of more than 200 productions.
A career crossed by fantasy, experimental and video games
From his 1966 debut in the series On the way to Saint-Tropez to his collaborations with Andy WarholUdo Kier has never stopped flirting with the margins of cinema. He distinguished himself in films that have become cult like Ace Ventura, Johnny Mnemonicor even Bladewhere he played an aristocratic vampire.
But his influence went far beyond the big screen. He lent his voice to the character of Yuri In Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 And Yuri’s Revengeand embodied the Dr. Peter Staub In Call of Duty: WWII. More recently, he had participated in the narrative game Martha is Deadin the role ofErich.
OD, his last unfinished project with Kojima
His last video game appearance was to be in ODthe upcoming horror game from Hideo Kojimaproduced by Kojima Productions and Xbox Game Studios. The actor was announced there alongside Hunter Schafer And Sophia Lillis during the Game Awards 2023.
Hideo Kojima reacted to his disappearance on Twitter, expressing his emotion and indicating that filming, scheduled to resume in spring 2026, will unfortunately not be able to count on him. It is currently unknown whether Udo Kier’s role will be reassigned or removed.