German actor and Hollywood veteran Udo Kier dies at 81

German actor and Hollywood veteran Udo Kier has died at the age of 81 in Palm Springs, his management confirmed to dpa on Monday.

Kier appeared in more than 250 film and television productions, including "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective" (1994) and "Armageddon" (1998).

With his intense gaze and unusually green eyes, he often played eccentric villains, such as the leader of a Nazi colony on the Moon in 2012's "Iron Sky."

But he was also known for his ties to cult filmmakers on both sides of the Atlantic, including Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Gus von Sant and Lars von Trier.

Born in Cologne in 1944, Kier grew up in a poor single-parent household before moving to London at the age of 19.

He rose to fame with appearances in horror films such as "Flesh for Frankenstein" in 1973 and a series of successful German films including "Lili Marleen" in 1981.

Moving to the United States in 1991, Kier became one of few German actors to have a Hollywood career spanning decades. He split his time in California between Los Angeles and Palm Springs.

In 2020, Kier received a plaque on the Palm Springs Walk of the Stars, while he was honoured at the Braunschweig International Film Festival last year with the prestigious Europa award for outstanding achievement in European film culture.

His last appearance was in "The Secret Agent," which is out in cinemas now.