Actor Udo Kier has died at the age of 81.

In a statement to Variety, artist Delbert McBride confirmed that his partner had passed away on Sunday morning. Meanwhile, Kier's "good friend of 60 years", Michael Childers, announced on Facebook that the actor died at a hospital in Palm Springs, California.

A cause of death wasn't disclosed.

Born in Cologne, Germany in 1944, Kier moved to London as a young man so he could study English and acting. He made his film debut in 1966's Road to Saint Tropez.

After starring in 1973's Flesh for Frankenstein, the actor was cast in a string of arthouse projects and built up a reputation for appearing in vampire-themed features, like 1998's Blade and 2000's Shadow of the Vampire.

Over the course of his career, Kier collaborated with cult directors such as Gus Van Sant, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, and Dario Argento, garnering an uncredited appearance in the latter's 1977 supernatural horror film, Suspiria.

He was also known for his work with Lars von Trier, having appeared in many of the Danish filmmaker's projects, including 1987's Epidemic and 2011's Melancholia.

As for mainstream Hollywood films, Kier appeared in 1994's Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, 1996's Barb Wire, and 1998's Armageddon.

In addition, the Palm Springs-based artist signed up for cameos in numerous music videos, including the clips for Madonna's song Erotica, Korn's Make Me Bad, and Gwen Stefani and Eve's collaboration, Let Me Blow Ya Mind.

Kier featured in six episodes of the 2020 TV series Hunters and had his final screen role in the Brazilian political thriller, The Secret Agent.