Rutger Hauer facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Rutger Hauer
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Hauer in 2018
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| Born |
Rutger Oelsen Hauer
23 January 1944 |
| Died | 19 July 2019 (aged 75) Beetsterzwaag, Friesland, Netherlands
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| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1969–2019 |
| Spouse(s) |
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| Children | 1 |
Rutger Oelsen Hauer (born January 23, 1944 – died July 19, 2019) was a famous actor from the Netherlands. In 1999, people in his home country voted him the Best Dutch Actor of the Century.
Rutger Hauer started his acting journey in 1969. He played the main character in the Dutch TV show Floris. He became even more well-known with the movie Turkish Delight (1973). This film was later named the Best Dutch Film of the Century.
He gained international fame with movies like Soldier of Orange (1977) and Spetters (1980). After this, he moved on to American films. These included Nighthawks (1981) and Blade Runner (1982). In Blade Runner, he played a memorable character named Roy Batty. His role in Blade Runner led to many other movie parts. Some of these were Ladyhawke (1985) and The Hitcher (1986).
Later in his career, Hauer acted in smaller films and took supporting roles in big movies. These included Batman Begins (2005) and Sin City (2005). He also became famous for his work in commercials. Towards the end of his life, he returned to Dutch movies. He won an award in 2012 for his lead role in The Heineken Kidnapping (2011).
Rutger Hauer cared about the environment. He was part of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. He also started a group called the Rutger Hauer Starfish Association. This group helped raise awareness about AIDS. In 2013, he was made a knight in the Order of the Netherlands Lion.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Rutger Hauer was born in Breukelen, Netherlands, on January 23, 1944. This was during World War II, when the Netherlands was under German control. He once said that being born during the war made him believe strongly in pacifism, which means opposing violence.
His parents, Teunke and Arend Hauer, were both actors. They ran an acting school in Amsterdam. Rutger had three sisters. He felt his parents cared more about their acting than their children. Later, a writer named Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema became like a father to him.
Rutger went to a Rudolf Steiner school. His parents wanted him to be creative. When he was 15, he left school. He joined the Dutch merchant navy and traveled the world for a year. He wanted to become a ship captain, but he couldn't because he was colorblind.
After returning home, he worked different jobs. He also finished high school at night. Then, he started acting classes at the Academy for Theater and Dance in Amsterdam. But he soon left to join the Royal Netherlands Army. He trained as a combat medic. However, he left the army after a few months because he didn't like using weapons. He then went back to acting school and finished in 1967.
Rutger Hauer's Acting Career
Rutger Hauer had his first acting role when he was 11. He played a character in a play called Ajax. After finishing acting school, he became a stage actor.
Early Roles and Dutch Success
In 1969, Rutger Hauer made his first screen appearance. Director Paul Verhoeven cast him as the main character in the TV series Floris. This show was a medieval action drama. The role made him very famous in the Netherlands. He even played the role again in a German remake in 1975.
His career changed when Paul Verhoeven cast him in Turkish Delight (1973). This movie was nominated for an Oscar for best foreign language film. It was popular both in the Netherlands and other countries. Hauer then wanted to act in more international films.
Within two years, Hauer acted in his first English-language film. It was a British movie called The Wilby Conspiracy (1975). This film was about apartheid in South Africa. However, his role was small, and he wasn't noticed much in Hollywood. So, he went back to Dutch films for several years. During this time, he worked with Verhoeven again on Soldier of Orange (1977) and Spetters (1980). In 1981, he won an award for Best Actor at the Netherlands Film Festival.
American Breakthrough and Famous Roles
Hauer first appeared in an American film in 1981. He played a dangerous villain named Wulfgar in the Sylvester Stallone movie Nighthawks. He wanted to have a long career in Hollywood. So, he worked with a coach to learn an American accent.
In 1982, Hauer played Albert Speer in a TV show called Inside the Third Reich. That same year, he starred in his most famous role. He played Roy Batty in Ridley Scott's science fiction movie Blade Runner. His performance included the well-known "tears in rain" speech. Hauer even wrote some of that speech himself.
He then appeared in many other films. These included Ladyhawke (1985), where he played a knight. He also starred in The Hitcher (1986). In this movie, he played a mysterious hitchhiker who caused trouble for a driver. In 1987, he won a Golden Globe Award for his role in the TV film Escape from Sobibor.
In 1988, Hauer played a homeless man in The Legend of the Holy Drinker. He won the Best Actor award for this role in 1989. He also played a blind martial arts hero in the action film Blind Fury (1989). To prepare, he learned to "unfocus my eyes, to react to smells and sounds" by meeting a blind judo expert.
Commercials and Later Career
By the 1990s, Rutger Hauer was known for his funny Guinness commercials. He also continued to act in movies, often in smaller, independent films. In 1992, he played the main vampire villain, Lothos, in the horror-comedy movie Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He also appeared in Kylie Minogue's music video "On a Night Like This" (2000).
During this time, Hauer acted in many TV shows and movies made in Britain, Canada, and America. Some of these were Fatherland (1994), Merlin (1998), and Smallville (2003).
Hauer played an assassin in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2003). He was a powerful cardinal in Sin City (2005). He also played a business executive in Batman Begins (2005). In 2005, he played Dracula in the film Dracula III: Legacy. Seven years later, he played the vampire hunter Abraham Van Helsing in Dracula 3D. He also did voice-overs for commercials for the butter brand Lurpak.
In 2008, Hauer received an award for his contributions to Dutch cinema. This award recognized his acting and his help for young filmmakers and actors. In 2010, he was cast in the movie Hobo with a Shotgun (2011). He played Freddie Heineken in The Heineken Kidnapping (2011), winning an award for it.
From 2013 to 2014, Hauer was in the HBO show True Blood. In 2015, he appeared in The Last Kingdom. In 2016, he joined the film jury for ShortCutz Amsterdam. This is a film festival that promotes short films. Hauer also voiced characters in video games. He was Daniel Lazarski in Observer (2017) and Xehanort in Kingdom Hearts III (2019).
Personal Life and Activism
Rutger Hauer was an environmentalist. He supported the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, which works to protect marine wildlife. He was also on their board of advisors. He started the Rutger Hauer Starfish Association. This group worked to raise awareness about AIDS.
In 2007, he published his autobiography. It was called All Those Moments: Stories of Heroes, Villains, Replicants, and Blade Runners. The money from the book sales went to his Starfish Association.
Hauer was married twice. He had one child, a daughter named Aysha Hauer, from his first marriage. Aysha was born in 1966 and is also an actress. She had a son in 1987, making Rutger a grandfather. He was with his second wife, Ineke ten Cate, since 1968. They got married in 1985. Rutger Hauer felt a strong connection to the Friesland region of the Netherlands.
Death
Rutger Hauer passed away on July 19, 2019, at his home. He was 75 years old and had been ill for a short time. A private funeral was held on July 24. On January 23, 2020, which would have been his 76th birthday, a special ceremony was held in his honor. Many famous people attended, including Sharon Stone.
Filmography
Discography
- Lost in the New Real by Arjen Anthony Lucassen (2012) – Narrator/Voight Kampff, lyrics
See also
In Spanish: Rutger Hauer para niños
