Yes, yes, and yes, folks: I did see that Rutger Hauer recently passed ... but as I've warned many times in the past, I'm often slow to the uptake on posting memorials largely because as a blogger I've often found it difficult to distinguish myself from the thousands of other testimonials by those who knew such talent well. Also, I do tend to highlight births and achievements in our daily pages here, so I shy away from including death notices mainly because -- while good to read -- much of them are unadulterated fluff ... and I choose to recall how they lived as opposed to marking their passage.
Still, Rutger Hauer is one of those standouts who deserves a few words.
Most genre fans only know his work from the landmark Blade Runner (1982) where his singular Roy Batty just "wanted more life, f#cker." (His words, not mine ...) And if you're going to remember Hauer then why not choose what many considered his best work? I stated in a Twitter thread how I thought the actor truly inhabited that character, blurring the lines between where Roy ended and Rutger began, and that's what great talent does: they make it nearly impossible to distinguish themselves from the roles they've played. Hauer certainly did in the Ridley Scott film, and he furthermore built a career out of doing like-minded work in Ladyhawke (1985), The Hitcher (1986), and the alternative history Fatherland (1994). His was the type of magnetism that would have fans searching out a particular property -- new or old -- just because he was in it ... and -- think what you may -- there are few actors in the business today who can boast of that kind of loyal fandom.
He's gone now -- "like tears in rain" -- but what he did will forever shine on the big or small screen. Search it out one more time ... and then some ...
Still, Rutger Hauer is one of those standouts who deserves a few words.
Most genre fans only know his work from the landmark Blade Runner (1982) where his singular Roy Batty just "wanted more life, f#cker." (His words, not mine ...) And if you're going to remember Hauer then why not choose what many considered his best work? I stated in a Twitter thread how I thought the actor truly inhabited that character, blurring the lines between where Roy ended and Rutger began, and that's what great talent does: they make it nearly impossible to distinguish themselves from the roles they've played. Hauer certainly did in the Ridley Scott film, and he furthermore built a career out of doing like-minded work in Ladyhawke (1985), The Hitcher (1986), and the alternative history Fatherland (1994). His was the type of magnetism that would have fans searching out a particular property -- new or old -- just because he was in it ... and -- think what you may -- there are few actors in the business today who can boast of that kind of loyal fandom.
He's gone now -- "like tears in rain" -- but what he did will forever shine on the big or small screen. Search it out one more time ... and then some ...
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