Biographic - Sunday September 8, 2019 Comic Strip Licensing and Permissions

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Rutger Hauer was born in Breukelen, Netherlands, on January 23, 1944. Although his parents were actors who ran a drama school in Amsterdam, Rutger took a circuitous route into the profession. He ran away from home at the age of 15 to join the merchant navy and spent a year traveling the world on a freighter, he enrolled in drama school on his return but dropped out to join the army. He left the service after a few months and resumed his acting training, graduating in 1967. Two years later, the lead in the medievel series "Floris" made him a star on dutch tv. After establishing himself on stage and screen in his native country, he set his sights on Hollywood stardom. After playing a ruthless terrorist opposite Sylvester Stallone in "Nighthawks" he played a deadly replicant Roy Batty in "Blade Runner." The movie is now widely considered a sci-fi classic, thanks in large part to Rutger's performance. Subsequent roles included the lead in 1983's "The Osterman Weekend" and a tragic lover opposite Michelle Pfeiffer in "Ladyhawke." He played an evil manic in "The Hitcher" and a bounty hunter in "Wanted: Dead or Alive" He won a golden globe for his role in the tv movie "Escape From Sobibor." Over the next few decades he racked up credits in scores of movies, from "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" "Sin City" and "Batman Begins" to 2018's "The Sisters Brothers" His tv credits included "Fatherland" "Alias" "Salem's Lot" "True Blood" and "The Last Kingdom" Named the best Dutch actor of the 20th century by the Dutch Public, the noted philanthropist and environmentalist was made a knight in the order of the Netherlands lion in 2013. One of the most memorable scenes in movie history remains Roy Batty's "Tears In Rain" death speech- some of which Rutger wrote himself- in "Blade Runner" Released in 1982, the movie was set in the dystopian future of 2019. In a sad coincidence, Rutger Hauer died, after a short illness, on july 19, 2019. He was 75.

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