Udo Kier has passed away at the age of 81. He is a famous German actor who also portrayed the iconic super villain Yuri in Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2. Yuri can perform mind controls over his enemies and command them as his own. It's a 'troll' power in what was an emerging game about commanding units over real time strategy.

Game-wise, Yuri added a sense of imbalance in the game -- yet it wasn't game breaking. Including mind controlling enemy MCVs. Story-wise, Yuri blanketed Red Alert 2 with mystery. Surprisingly, the Yuri's Revenge expansion came out and it added his own faction which possesses psychic and mind control abilities.

Udo Kier played the perfect villain as Yuri. He also made an icon to a game with only a handful of memorable characters namely Tanya, Boris, or Einstein. The Command and Conquer universe isn't really known for its lore, but every Red Alert fan knows Yuri. He put caution to Real-Time Strategy players that you can't just rush your units or risk being brainwashed.

Udo Kier will certainly be missed especially among Command and Conquer: Red Alert fans.