“I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.”
Rutger Hauer has passed away, but he’ll always be remembered for the tears he left in the rain.
The 75-year-old Dutch actor, most known for his roles in movies including Wanted: Dead or Alive, The Rite, and Hobo With A Shotgun, died last week in his home in the Netherlands after suffering from what is being reported as a “short illness.” According to Hauer’s agent Steve Kenis, his funeral was held earlier today, putting the 50-year-actor to rest.
Since starting his career in a series of Dutch films that are lesser-known to the public, Hauer first got his big break in 1982’s science-fiction thriller Blade Runner, where he played the murderous yet empathetic replicant Roy Batty. He also improvised one of the most iconic death scenes in film history, where his character described the emotions and experiences he remembered and how they will be lost in time, like “tears in rain.”
From there, Hauer won a Golden Globe for his role as a Russian rebel in 1988’s Escape From Sobibor and starred in mostly smaller roles in several other movies, including Cardinal Roark in Sin City and Wayne Enterprises CEO William Earle in Batman Begins. But whatever part he played, Hauer made sure that he enjoyed doing it, stating in the 2006 documentary Blonde, Blue Eyes that he only accepted roles that he was really interested in. He was also an avid environmentalist and AIDS activist, starting an advocacy organization called the Starfish Association to spread awareness on AIDS and HIV.
Regardless of whatever he was doing, Hauer always did what he loved. May we all be as passionate and loving as he was.
R.I.P. Rutger Hauer, 1944-2019.
– David Dunn
SOURCE: Variety, Heavy.com
DAVID DUNN 