Blade Runner Actor Rutger Hauer, Who Played Replicant Roy Batty, Dies at 75

Dutch actor Rutger Hauer passed away last Friday in his home in the Netherlands, aged 75.

Hauer had suffered a short illness according to his agent via Hauer's website.

The star was well-known for his role as replicant Roy Batty in Blade Runner, the 1982 cult classic directed by Ridley Scott, and which also starred Harrison Ford. 

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Rutger Hauer and his acting career

Born in 1944 in Breukelen, close to Amsterdam in the Netherlands, Hauer began his working life in the Dutch merchant navy, but quickly quit to become an actor.  

Hauer's biggest acting hit was Blade Runner, in which he famously gave a speech before dying on camera, a dialogue he helped write himself. 

Hauer's acting career began with Dutch TV series Floris in 1969, written and directed by fellow Dutchman, Paul Verhoeven.

The actor played significant roles for Verhoeven, including the 1973 movie Turkish Delight. It wasn't until after a few more hits with Verhoeven that Hauer gained attention in Hollywood.

RIP the great Rutger Hauer: an intense, deep, genuine and magnetic actor that brought truth, power and beauty to his films. My personal favorites: Flesh + Blood, Eureka, The Hitcher, Blade Runner, Ladyhawke and Blind Fury. pic.twitter.com/1F2Via3mLY

— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) July 24, 2019

His role as a harsh terrorist in Sylvester Stallone's 1981 Nighthawks movie was the start of his Hollywood moment.

Then came the infamous Blade Runner role in 1982, which was by far his most well-known role. The movie initially didn't do as well as it was hoped, but it soon became a cult classic.

Hauer's acting continued up until this year, and in his later years, he was behind the camera. His roles centered predominantly around vampire and horror stories. Starring as Van Helsing in Dracula 3D, and the blood-sucking vampire, Barlow - part of a 2004 short series from the Stephen King novel. 

Hauer was married twice, to Heidi Merz whom he divorced, and Ineke ten Cate, with who he had been with for 50 years.