STACK #162 April 2018

DVD & BD FEATURE

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THE CULT OF UDO

Matt Damon, Christoph Waltz and Udo Kier in Downsizing

FLESH FOR FRANKENSTEIN Kier's loopy performance as the Baron is a joy to behold – pitched somewhere between mad scientist and bad Nazi caricature.

AN AUDIENCE WITH UDO KIER

The prolific German actor and cult figure is as colourful in person as the characters he plays on screen, writes Gill Pringle. H e’s starred in almost 150 movies, featuring opposite Nicole Kidman, John Hurt, His every film adventure comes embellished with wondrous tales.

BLOOD FOR DRACULA Kier's greatest vampire role is surely the ailing Count, who's desperately seeking the blood of a "wirgin" in a bawdy Italian villa.

Warhol’s Frankenstein (AKA Flesh for Frankenstein ) in 1973, leading to a string of indie and big budget vampire-themed films including Blade, Shadow of the Vampire and Dracula 3000. The way Kier sees it, his career has been a happy intersection of luck and gift.

Like the time Alexander Payne invited him to lunch while visiting Palm Springs with his wife. “He looked at me and asked, ‘All these directors want to work with you. What makes you so special?’ I said: nothing, you get what you see,” says a dismissive Kier, who would go on to star with Matt Damon and Christoph Waltz in Payne’s Downsizing . Blockbuster films like Blade, Armageddon and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective have put him on the Hollywood map, but he has little time for pampered actors. “I call those actors ‘trailer stars’ because they care more about how big their trailer is and if the trailer is too cold or too hot, and you think, ‘Wow they must be a great actor‘ and then you go work with them and nothing comes, and I move my eyes to heaven,” he says, those big blue eyes filled with mischief. “But the good thing is

Willem Dafoe, John Malkovich, Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, Keanu Reeves, Jim Carrey and Uma Thurman. The list of glittering co-stars goes on. Yet Udo Kier doesn’t even care that, at 73, he’s still not a household name. In fact, he prefers it that way. “I have never ever asked a director to work with them. But somehow they all find me ,” he purrs in that familiar silky feline European accent, part pussycat, part wolf. Welcome to the Udo Kier show. “I’ve never been to acting school in my life. I created my own style. I was lucky to work with amazing actors and I watched them. It’s a technique you can learn, but you cannot learn talent. You either have it or you don’t,” he announced when STACK caught up with him at the International Film Festival of Macau, where he was honoured with a Career Achievement Award. Kier’s life has been filled with drama from the moment

SUSPIRIA As psychiatrist Dr. Frank Mandel, Kier teaches Jessica Harper a thing or two about witches in Dario Argento's horror classic.

I've never been to acting school. I created my own style

“My most memorable films are always the ones which changed something in my life. For me it was Andy Warhol’s Frankenstein because I was able to move to an artistic level…”

BRAWL IN CELL BLOCK 99 As the sinister Placid Man, Kier delivers a horrific ultimatum to Vince Vaughn, which ultimately triggers what it says in the title.

when you work with Lars von Trier or other young directors. In Dogville with Nicole Kidman and Lauren Bacall, they must all eat the same food, self-service, stay in a little town and all have the same rooms, the same cars – that’s always much more fun.” Kier’s veteran

he was born in Germany in 1944 toward the end of WWII – the hospital bombed moments after his birth. Beloved by cult directors Lars von Trier, Gus Van Sant and Dario Argento, he won an early starring role in Andy

status allows him a wider overview. “I have more fun

because it’s easier for me now. When you are a young actor, you want to work with everybody. But now I don’t care.”

• Downsizing is out on Apr 11

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