In 1966, Kier was cast in the lead role for the film Road to St. Tropez. An early starring role in Andy Warhol's Frankenstein (1973) led to a string of art-house, low-budget, and mainstream horror films, including a number of vampire-themed pictures Die Einsteiger (1985), Blade (1998), Modern Vampires (1998), Shadow of the Vampire (2000), Dracula 3000 and Bloodrayne (2005). He has also become notorious for his work with cult Directors, including Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Walerian Borowczyk, Gus Van Zant, Christoph Schlingensief, and Dario Argento (whose classic Suspiria (1977) he was featured in). He has appeared in all of Lars von Trier's movies since 1987's Epidemic (with the exceptions of The Idiots, The Boss of it All and Antichrist).