Famous Dutch actor Rutger Hauer dead at age 75
By Manja van Kesteren
Last Friday, well-known Dutch actor Rutger Hauer passed away at age 75 in Beesterzwaag in Friesland, after a short illness. The private funeral took place on Wednesday, his family told Dutch press bureau ANP.
The most successful Dutch actor overseas
Rutger Hauer was the Netherlands’ most internationally successful actor, with a whopping 172 acting credits listed on his IMDB page. The actor also won various prestigious awards for his work, including a Golden Globe for his performance in the 1987 film Escape From Sobibor.
The Dutch Paul Newman
Often called the Dutch Paul Newman, Hauer started his career as a theatre actor in the 60s, before a lead role in the Dutch TV show about knights, Floris, made him famous in the Netherlands. He then appeared in various Dutch movies, including Paul Verhouven’s Soldaat van Oranje (1977) and Turks Fruit (1973).
Hauer in Hollywood
After Soldaat van Oranje (1977) received a Golden Globe nomination, Hauer became a familiar face in Hollywood, acting alongside many famous actors, including Harrison Ford, Sylvester Stallone and Michelle Pfeiffer. One of his most iconic roles was that of android Roy Batty in sci-fi classic Blade Runner (1982).
You may also have seen him in Ladyhawke (1985), The Hitcher (1986), Escape From Sobibor (1987), Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992), Merlin (1998), Sin City (2005), Batman Begins (2005), True Blood (2013-2014) and Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017).
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Managing Editor at IamExpat Media. Manja studied English and Creative & Professional Writing at the University of Wolverhampton in the UK. She has been working as a content editor and SEO copywriter since 2007, in both the English and Dutch language. As any writer should, she is VERY passionate about books, as well as arts and crafts, Netflix, metal music, cheese, and her silly guinea pigs.Read more