Original-Cin Q&A: Udo Kier on The Painted Bird, Lars von Trier and the lifelong effects of being born amid war rubble

In a long and varied career, German actor Udo Kier is known best for his 25 year collaboration with filmmaker Lars von Trier. Kier is one of those actors who you might not know by name, but you will definitely recognize his face ( and piercing blue eyes!) 

Kier has carved a niche playing lowlifes. And his demented turn in the Czech Republic's The Painted Bird is no exception.

Based on Jerzy Kosinski’s novel of the same name, with an impressive cast (including Harvey Keitel and Stellan Skarsgård) and directed by Václav Marhoul, The Painted Bird  follows a young Jewish boy somewhere in Eastern Europe during World War II. Seeking refuge, he encounters many different characters. 

Kier connected immediately with the material and related to many of its themes. The hospital where Kier was born in Cologne was bombed minutes after his birth. Mother and baby had to be dug out of the rubble — an event that he says defines him as a person and actor.

Udo Kier plays a demented farmer in The Painted Bird

The Painted Bird is NOT for the faint of heart and its brutal scenes led to walkouts from audiences at the Venice, Toronto and London film festivals. At the 35th Warsaw International Film Festival, the audience honored the film with a long ovation after its only screening.

Our Bonnie Laufer spoke with Udo Kier from his home in California about the film and his long time professional relationship with Lars Von Trier. 

The Painted Bird is now available on digital VOD.  

ORIGINAL-CIN:  Although at times, The Painted Bird is a very tough watch I truly think it is a masterpiece.  Had you been familiar with Jerzy Kosiniski’s book before you decided to be a part of this? 

UDO KIER:  “First of all, I like that you just called the film a  masterpiece, because I always tell people that for me it is a masterpiece.  They offered me the movie and I immediately  read the script  a few times and loved it. Then I read the novel,  which is so strong, and thought that  we were about to make a very good adaptation.” 

 OC:  What did you think when you finally saw the finished film? 

KIER: “I saw the movie last year and I was very impressed. I never like to see movies that I am in  but with this one I felt I really needed to watch the entire thing.  I never watch the rushes or videos when we are shooting a film because I never like seeing myself and I am much too critical of my performance. Once it's done, it's done! 

“I liked The Painted Bird very much and I thought that our director Václav Marhoul  did such a wonderful job telling this story.  I found it so effective and everyone in the film was extraordinary. 

“I told  Václav (because I really meant it and not because I'm in the movie) I thought that it was  a masterpiece.  I was so taken by the plight of this young boy, the people he meets along the way, and how the film depicts true survival during horrific times.”

OC: Did you feel like you needed to do any special preparation for your role? 

KIER: “I went to  the Czech Republic after signing on, where I spent day and night on the set. 

“I wanted to see the room where I would be spending most of my scenes. I wanted to touch the linen. I wanted to see what was in the drawer. I wanted to sit at the table.  I just wanted to  get used to the environment so that it would give me a better understanding of this farmer that I was about to play.” 

OC: I say this with all due respect, but your career is filled with playing lowlife for odd characters? What draws you to these roles?

KIER:  “Well, for The Painted Bird, it wasn’t so much about the character that I was playing, but I very much connected with the material. 

“I grew up like that boy who is the protagonist in the film. I was brought up in Germany, born in 1944, and there was nothing to eat. Until I was 16 or 17, we had no water. My mother had to cook water in a kettle, and once a week I was bathed, and that was it.  I identified myself so much with that boy, and when I make films like this, I don’t act. It’s simply me, but in a costume.”

OC: When did you know you wanted to do this as your profession? 

KIER:  “I left  Germany when I was 18. I went to England but not to be an actor. I never wanted to be an actor. I wanted to  learn English because we had no money for me to go to  high school and College.  

“So I got ‘discovered,’ as they say in England.  Somebody I knew was making a movie (1966’s Road to Saint Tropez) and offered me a part.  I didn’t feel comfortable about it, but they insisted and I made my first movie.

“They were very kind to me, and it was a very good experience. I was a poor boy, I liked the attention and all of a sudden people were recognizing me. So how could I stop?” 

OC: In addition to so many standout roles, you have a 25 year professional experience with filmmaker Lars Von Triers.  You are in almost every one of his films! Why does it work so well with you two, and what have you earned from him? 

KIER: “Well I have  learned so many things from him. I met him at a film Festival in Frankfurt almost 30 years ago.  He was premiering a film there at the time, and I was there to promote a short film that I had done.  

“When I saw Lars’ film I just knew he was going to win a prize for it. He did and I asked one of the Festival directors to introduce us.  

“We met, and we talked for a while. And a couple of months later, he called me and we met up for a  beer. He said he was making a film called Medea  and he wanted to offer me  the leading man but there was only one problem.

“And I said, ‘What is the problem?’ He said, ‘You don't look like a Viking or a  King. So do me a favor, and don't shave anymore.  Don't wash your hair, and come here in one month. 

“So I did what he asked, and got on a plane looking very  dirty. And that was the beginning of our friendship and our longtime collaboration.” 

OC: You’ve been very loyal to each other.

KIER:  “He and his first wife asked me to be godfather to their first-born daughter, so it’s been a wonderful relationship. He always sent me the scripts, even if it had roles  that I didn't think I suited. 

“I chose to play the killer in Breaking the Waves because, even with a small role in it, I always liked working with Lars. I chose to play the waiter in Nymphomaniac and so on.  I learned a lot because his favorite line is ‘Don't act.’  I take that with me for every role I take on, I just try to be myself in some way and not act.” 

OC:  Working with Gus Van Sant was also a gift, so to speak, because he introduced you to a more mainstream American audience. 

KIER: “I met Gus in Berlin at a FIlm Festival where he told me that he was making a film with Keanu Reeves and River Phoenix called, My Own Private Idaho, and that he had  a part for me.  

“I didn’t really think he was serious. But we wrote each other letters, and I came to America to do that film and the rest is history.  I owe my art collection to Gus (laughs), and I will always be thankful for what he did for me.”