Kojima Productions' OD voice actor and horror legend Udo Kier passes away at 81
Udo Kier, the German actor, renowned for his performance in over 200 films, alongside video games, has unfortunately passed away at the age of 81. Kier passed away on the morning of November 23, 2025, in Palm Springs, Florida, where he had been living since 1991.
His partner, Delbert McBride, confirmed the news to Variety, while elsewhere on social media, close friend Michael Childers shared the heartbreaking news.
Kier’s early life was spent during the peak of World War II, as his mother protected him from bombs in a basement during the Allied advancement. He left East Germany and moved to London, taking the first steps in his acting career at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.
Later, he returned to Germany, and his big breakout came during the early 1970s, with a catalogue of horror films which are now cult classics, including Mark of the Devil (1970), Flesh for Frankenstein (1973), and Blood for Dracula (1974).
In the 1990s, Kier transitioned to American cinema, with his first U.S. role as a hotel manager in My Own Private Idaho. Later, he found himself as a henchman in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994), a corporate worker in Johnny Mnemonic (1995), and an astronaut in Armageddon (1998).
Even during his final years, Kier remained active in cinema with his final performance as a Jewish Holocaust survivor navigating the end of Brazil’s military dictatorship in the 2025 political thriller, The Secret Agent.
Aside from film, Kier also commanded his presence in video games. He played Yuri, the psychic Soviet antagonist, in the live-action cutscenes of Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 in the 2000s. He later reprised this role in the 2001 Yuri’s Revenge Expansion.
He also voiced resistance fighter Metz in 2017’s Call of Duty: WWII and the eccentric Dr. Giovanni in 2022’s psychological horror title, Martha is Dead. Recently, Kier was positioned to make a return to horror-infused cinematic gaming in Hideo Kojima’s OD.
Metal Gear Creator and OD director, Hideo Kojima, shared his sorrow about Kier’s passing in a post on X:
I’m at a loss for words. It all happened far too suddenly. Because of the strike, we weren’t able to shoot OD for a long time, so we had to reschedule for next year. Even during that time, Udo and I exchanged emails frequently. We stayed in close contact.
When we met in Milan at the end of September, he told me how much he was looking forward to the shoot starting up again next year. He was full of energy then too, making me laugh with his usual ‘Udo-isms.’
I still can’t believe this. Udo wasn’t just an actor. He was truly an ‘icon’ of his time. We’ve lost a great ‘icon.’ There will be another like him. Udo, rest in peace. I will never forget you.
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