Coming Up: Udo Kier Retrospective at the Quad
In his only tweet, the German actor asked viewers to “envelop yourself in the darkness of the movie hall and submit to the artist's vision.”
On November 23, 2025, Udo Kier passed away at the age of 81. The horror icon left behind a body of work that spans five decades, beginning in the 1960s. It wasn’t until 1970 that Kier reached mainstream recognition with the success of the controversially graphic Mark of the Devil. After this, he starred in Paul Morrissey’s Flesh for Frankenstein (1973), and the duo teamed up again a year later for Blood for Dracula, in which Kier played the titular role. He appeared in horror films throughout the rest of his career, even appearing in Dario Argento’s Suspiria (1977).
In addition to his horror credits, Kier is also associated with the German New Wave, notably appearing in Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s Berlin Alexanderplatz (1980), Lili Marleen (1981), and Lola (1981). The two had been friends since they were teenagers after meeting in a bar. Like Fassbinder, Kier was openly gay. He recalled in 2021 that “no one had ever asked. Maybe it was obvious, but it didn't make any difference because all that mattered was the role I was playing. As long as I did a good job on the part, no one cared about my sexuality.” Fassbinder and Kier had a complex friendship. The duo had a brief falling out after Kier turned down a role in Fox and His Friends, but they were soon friends again, even becoming roommates. Kier moved out when he realized Fassbinder “was burning himself up in such a destructive way. I didn’t want to be a part of it.” Two months later, the German director passed away from a drug overdose.
Later in his career, Kier started appearing in Latin American films, beginning in 2019 with the Dominican Holy Beasts (La fiera y la fiesta). That same year, he also appeared in Brazil’s acclaimed Western, Bacurau. Then, he appeared in an Israeli-Colombian co-production set in the 1960s, My Neighbor Adolf, about a Holocaust survivor who becomes convinced his next door neighbor is Hitler. His last role was in the Brazilian movie, The Secret Agent, the most awarded film at Cannes in 2025, in which he appears as a Holocaust survivor who sought refuge in the country but is mistaken for a Nazi.
Quad Cinema is honoring Udo Kier with a retrospective that runs from January 3–7 and includes Bacurau, Blood for Dracula, Flesh for Frankenstein, and Melancholia. Learn more here.
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