Entertainment

Blade Runner star Rutger Hauer dies at the age of 75

The actor died following a short illness.
The actor died following a short illness. The actor died following a short illness.

Blade Runner star Rutger Hauer has died at the age of 75.

The Dutch actor died on July 19 at his home in the Netherlands following a short illness, his agent said.

His funeral was held on Wednesday.

Rutger Hauer
Rutger Hauer Rutger Hauer (Yui Mok/PA)

Hauer received cult acclaim for his role as the philosophical replicant Roy Batty in Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner.

The actor delivered a famed monologue on memory and death in the film, which became one of its defining moments.

Hauer began his career working on TV shows in the Netherlands, and formed a partnership with director Paul Verhoeven.

He starred in a number of his productions before making his English-language debut alongside Michael Caine in apartheid drama The Wilby Conspiracy (1975).

His other films include Blind Fury, The Hitcher, Sin City, Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind and Batman Begins.

Director Guillermo Del Toro paid tribute to Hauer, tweeting: “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.”

EastEnders star Jake Wood tweeted: “So sad to hear of the passing of Rutger Hauer.

“I played the drummer boy in Flesh & Blood in 1984 and I got to spend 4 months in a castle in Spain with him, times I shall never forget. What an amazing guy, RIP my friend.”

News of the actor’s death was first reported by Variety.