Rutger Hauer: 1944 - 2019

Actor Rutger Hauer has passed away at 75. 

Born Rutger Olsen Hauer in the Netherlands to parents who were drama teachers, Hauer ran away from home at 15 and spent a year at sea swabbing decks on a freighter. Once back at home, he worked as an electrician while finishing his high school diploma at night. He attended the Academy for Theatre and Dance in Amsterdam for acting classes, with a brief interruption when he was drafted to serve as a combat medic for the Royal Netherlands Army. 

After joining an experimental troupe, he was later cast in the lead role of Paul Verhoeven’s 1969 TV series FLORIS; a Dutch medieval drama. The role made him famous in his own country. In 1973 Verhoeven cast him in TURKISH DELIGHT (1973), which as a box office hit elevated his star even more. He made his American debut in the Sylvester Stallone film NIGHTHAWKS (1981), as a psychopathic terrorist. 

The following year, he landed his most notable role in Ridley Scott’s BLADE RUNNER as the replicant Roy Batty; a villain known for his violent and eccentric ways. Hauer would improvise the film’s famous “tears in the rain” monologue, and the performance would earn him a Saturn Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. 

In the 1990’s he was as well-known for appearing in Guinness commercials as he was for his low-budget films. In 1992 he was cast in the film version of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, along with several British and American TV productions. He played an assassin in CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND (2003), a villainous Cardinal in SIN CITY (2005), and a corporate crook in Christopher Nolan’s BATMAN BEGINS (2005). His other notable roles include LADYHAWKE (1985), THE HITCHER (1986), HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN (2011), DRACULA 3D (2012), VALERIAN AND THE CITY OF A THOUSAND PLANETS (2017), and THE SISTERS BROTHERS (2018). 

He was made a knight in the Order of the Netherlands in 2013. 

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It’s tough to talk about Rutger Hauer without going back to BLADE RUNNER, which gave him his most memorable character. Long-time readers of Reel Speak already know that this Blogger has always had more respect for BLADE RUNNER than love for it, but there is nothing to be taken away from Hauer’s performance. He played crazy, yet somehow controlled…and it cemented his ability to play a formidable villain that was more than just twirling mustaches. His memorable monologue from BLADE RUNNER mentions moments that will be lost in time like tears in the rain, but its safe to say that Hauer’s moments will endure.