It’s with great sadness that we reportRutger Hauerhas died at the age of 75. Variety confirms the actor passed away on July 19 following a “short illness”, and that funeral was held on July 24. Hauer is best known to audiences for his iconic role inRidley Scott’sBlade Runner, in which the Dutch actor portrayed the defiant Replicant Roy Batty across fromHarrison Ford. Hauer’s “tears in the rain” speech is an instantly recognizable film moment that helped kick off a whole new era for science-fiction, steampunk, and noir.
Hauer, who got his start as the leading man inPaul Verhoeven’s Dutch TV series,Floris, had a singularly unique screen presence that lent itself to an eclectic resume filled with villains, horror, and sword-and-sorcery fantasy. In addition toBlade Runner, the 80s saw the actor play a sadistic terrorist across fromSylvester StalloneinNighthawks, a bird-wielding captain guard inRichard Donner’s big-budget fantasyLadyhawke, and a mercenary inFlesh & Blood, which re-teamed him with Verhoeven. Hauer’s homicidal maniac John Ryder inRoger Harmon’s road-horror flickThe Hitcheris one of the greatest 80s horror villains of all time.
1992 saw Hauer play a major role in the originalBuffy the Vampire Slayermovie from directorFran RubelKuzui.The actor would keep that vampiric streak going throughout his career, appearing in the 2004 mini-series adaptation ofStephen King’sSalem’s Lot, horror maestroDario Argento’sDracula 3D, and HBO’sTrue Blood.
More recently, Hauer played shady Wayne Enterprises CEO William Earle inBatman Begins,put in one of the wildest, most emotionally affecting performances of his career in the 2012 grindhouse indie,Hobo with a Shotgun, and played the President of the World State Federation inValerian and the City of A Thousand Planets. He recently returned to TV to play the endlessly creepy Joseph Peach on Syfy’sChannel Zero: Butcher’s Blockand lent his voice to the video gameKingdom Hearts III. His IMDB page currently lists four upcoming projects in post-production.
