Rutger Hauer

Biography

At the young age of 10, Rutger Hauer was already on stage. After graduating from the Amsterdam Theatre School in 1967, he acted in many plays at theatre group the Noorder Compagnie. In 1969 he became well known thanks to his role in the television series Floris, directed by Paul Verhoeven. His second project with Verhoeven, the box-office hit Turks Fruit, made him not just a national star; the film helped him land his first role in a foreign production, The Wilby Conspiracy (1975), which featured Sidney Poitier and Michael Caine. With his roles in Nighthawks (1981) and Blade Runner (1982), Hauer became an international star.

He played in more films directed by Verhoeven, such as Keetje Tippel, Soldaat van Oranje and Spetters; in the US they made Flesh+Blood together. After 1990, Hauer was mainly seen in B-movies and television series, where he usually played the villain. These films didn't contribute much to his status as a major film star, but he was one of the most productive and best-paid actors in Hollywood.

Hauer's career entered a new phase at the turn of the millennium, and he worked alongside big names such as George Clooney, (Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, 2003), Christopher Nolan, (Batman Begins, 2005) and Robert Rodriguez (Sin City, 2005).