Germany Hollywood veteran Udo Kier dead at 81

LOS ANGELES - German actor Udo Kier, whose offbeat charisma made him a cult figure in both arthouse and Hollywood cinema, has died at 81 in California, US magazine Variety reported.

With a career spanning more than half a century, Kier appeared in hundreds of films - often stealing scenes with his unmistakable presence.

Kier first rose to fame in the 1970s with cult portrayals of Frankenstein and Dracula, working alongside Andy Warhol and Rainer Werner Fassbinder.

His pale features and theatrical intensity quickly set him apart in the independent and underground film world.

Kier once claimed to have eaten only salad leaves and water for a week in a bid to rapidly lose 10 pounds (4.5 kilograms) for the Dracula role, spending time in a wheelchair due to weakness.

He also appeared in several films directed by Danish director Lars von Trier, including Manderlay, which tells the fictional story of a 1930s Alabama plantation that still practised slavery, as well as 2013 erotic art film Nymphomaniac.

But Kier was equally at homein mainstream cinema, appearing in a string of Hollywood titles including Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Armageddon, and Blade, often playing stylish villains, oddballs or otherworldly figures.

Born Udo Kierspe in Cologne in 1944 and rescued from the rubble after an Allied air raid hit the hospital, Kier grew up in the austerity of postwar Germany before moving to London aged 18 to learn English.

He shuttled across Europe and the United States over the course of his career before later settling in Los Angeles and then Palm Springs.

Known for his flamboyant personality and love of nightlife, Kier once quipped: "I liked the attention. That's why I became an actor."

He died in Palm Springs, reported Variety magazine, quoting Kier's partner, artist Delbert McBride. No cause of death was given.