German actor Udo Kier’s breakout film, Mark of the Devil (1970) was rated “V” for violence and banned in 31 countries, but it was Andy Warhol’s X-rated Frankenstein (1973) and Dracula (1974) that propelled him to cult-star status. He’s since acted in over 220 films, playing everything from grindhouse villains to arthouse anti-heroes. He’s worked with European icons Lars von Trier, Argento, Fassbinder, Herzog and Wenders, but settled in Palm Springs after acting in Gus Van Sant’s My Own Private Idaho. Kier is at KVIFF with two new films: Gyula Nemes’ Zero , in which he plays the bad guy opposite an anarchist beekeeper out to save humanity, and Guy Maddin and Evan Johnson’s The Forbidden Room.
Why did you choose Zero for your latest project?
Many people don’t know that bees are dying, and when they die, we will die – there will be nothing to eat... Of course I had to play the bad man, who has a cell phone tower and the bees don’t like the sound coming from it. But I have a very special connection to Hungarian film because with Jancsó Miklós I made Hungarian Rhapsody (1979), and worked with Gábor Bódy for a year [on Narcisus and Psyche (1980)].
Is it fun to play bad guys?
It’s always fun because we all have to be good, we’re not allowed to be bad... People were coming to me when I was younger – especially women – saying “Oh, you’re so evil.” But they said it like they were having an orgasm! Play a part and women have orgasms in the cinema – what can be better? I’ve also played Adolf Hitler three times, but in comedies, and I played a Nazi in Tarantino’s Grindhouse, but also that was a comedy.
Read the whole interview by Brian Kenety and Šimon Šafránek in today's Festival Daily.
