Veteran movie villain Rutger Hauer has been laid to rest after passing away on 19 July (19).
The Blade Runner star’s agent, Steve Kenis, has confirmed the news, revealing Rutger died in his native Holland. He was 75.
The actor’s funeral was held on Wednesday, shortly before the news of his death was announced.
Hauer’s credits include Sin City, Batman Begins, True Blood, The Legend of the Holy Drinker, Ladyhawke, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dracula 3D, The Hitcher, and cult TV series Wanted: Dead or Alive and Salem’s Lot, but he’s perhaps best known for his role as Roy Batty, the leader of a gang of outlaw replicants, in 1982’s Blade Runner.
He made his name in his native Holland in 1973, when he starred in Turkish Delight, which landed a Best Foreign Film Oscar nomination, and continued making arthouse hits in Europe until 1981, when he joined Sylvester Stallone in the Hollywood thriller Nighthawks.
Born in Breukelen, the Netherlands, in 1944, Rutger ran away from home and joined the Dutch merchant navy when he was a teenager. He also served in the army before becoming a member of a touring acting troupe.
His big break came in 1969 when he was cast in Paul Verhoeven’s TV series Floris as a heroic knight.
A fierce environmentalist, he became an outspoken sponsor for Greenpeace and the founder the Starfish Association, a non-profit devoted to AIDS awareness.
He is survived by his second wife, Ineke ten Cate, and a daughter, actress Aysha Hauer, from his marriage to Heidi Merz.