Rutger Hauer, Played Complex Android In 'Blade Runner,' Dies At 75

Actor Rutger Hauer was best known for his portrayal of Roy Batty, a murderous and contemplative android who is hunted down by a cop played by Harrison Ford in Blade Runner.

Transcript

NOEL KING, HOST:

The actor Rutger Hauer died last week after a brief illness. Rutger Hauer got to be a star in his home country of the Netherlands in the late '60s and early '70s with roles on TV and in the movies. One of them, "Turkish Delight," was nominated for an Oscar. And then Hollywood came calling, and Hauer kept being cast as bad guys, most famously in the 1982 science fiction movie "Blade Runner."

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "BLADE RUNNER")

RUTGER HAUER: (As Roy Batty) Quite an experience to live in fear, isn't it? That's what it is to be a slave.

KING: His character Roy Batty is an android known as a replicant. And he is desperate to extend his life. He spends his last moments terrorizing Harrison Ford's character during a rainstorm. And then Hauer delivers one of the most memorable death monologues in the history of film. And listen; this was partially written by Rutger Hauer himself.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "BLADE RUNNER")

HAUER: (As Roy Batty) I've seen things you people wouldn't believe - attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die.

KING: That was the actor Rutger Hauer. He died last week at the age of 75. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.