Rutger Hauer death: Blade Runner star dies aged 75 after short illness

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The Blade Runner star Rutger Hauer has died aged 75 following a short illness, his agent said.

The Dutch actor passed away at his home in the Netherlands on July 19. His funeral was held on Wednesday.

Hauer received cult acclaim for his role as the philosophical replicant Roy Batty in Ridley Scott's Blade Runner.

The actor delivered a famed monologue on memory and death in the film, which became one of its defining moments.

Warrior: Rutger Hauer as Ravn in The Last Kingdom
BBC / Carnival Films

Hauer began his career working on TV shows in the Netherlands, and formed a partnership with director Paul Verhoeven.

He starred in a number of his productions before making his English-language debut alongside Michael Caine in apartheid drama The Wilby Conspiracy (1975).

His other films include Blind Fury, The Hitcher, Sin City, Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind and Batman Begins.

Director Guillermo Del Toro paid tribute to Hauer, tweeting: "RIP the great Rutger Hauer: an intense, deep, genuine and magnetic actor that brought truth, power and beauty to his films.

"My personal favorites: Flesh + Blood, Eureka, The Hitcher, Blade Runner, Ladyhawke and Blind Fury."

Gene Simmons also wrote that she was sad to hear of Hauer's death.

The singer said: "He was always a gentleman, kind and compassionate. Sending our condolences and prayers to his family, friends and fans."

The British Film Institute called him: "An actor with extraordinary presence and magnetism on screen, his memory lives on in films such as Blade Runner, The Hitcher and Flesh+Blood.

EastEnders star Jake Wood tweeted: "So sad to hear of the passing of Rutger Hauer.

"I played the drummer boy in Flesh & Blood in 1984 and I got to spend 4 months in a castle in Spain with him, times I shall never forget. What an amazing guy, RIP my friend."

Screenwriter Michael Varrati also paid tribute to the actor saying: "Words can never fully express how much I loved LADYHAWKE growing up.

"It was one of th first movies I obsessed over, and because of that, for a time, to me Rutger Hauer was the biggest star in the world. We lost a great actor today. I lost my childhood knight. He will be missed.

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