Rutger Hauer was born on 23 January 1944.
Hauer is one of those actors who I really like but don’t think much of. He’s a great professional actor. But he was an actor of limited breadth. I don’t think it matters too much. Especially for a leading man, there are more than enough roles.
I only recall one film where he gave a poor performance. That was Buffy the Vampire Slayer. But I don’t blame him. It seems he was brought in for a very short period of time. The editing shows there was not enough coverage. And the final fight scene is pathetic.
Most people know Hauer from Blade Runner. And he is especially great in an extremely demanding role. He manages to go from a psychopath torturing Deckard to an empath who saves him. It seems natural the way he plays it.
But I’m highlighting Hauer for different reasons. The man worked a lot! And he was in a lot of psychotronic films. A good example is Omega Doom. It is a post-apocalyptic Yojimbo (Or A Firstful of Dollars, if you prefer). Other psychotronic delights include The Blood of Heroes, Split Second, and Hobo with a Shotgun. Critics hated all these films (except Hobo, which they tolerated).
But I want to highlight a Rutger Hauer film that few have seen, Blind Fury. Critics also disliked it. He plays an American soldier in Vietnam who is blinded in a battle. The locals save him. They also teach him to be a samurai badass. He returns to the US and helps the son of an army buddy. It is a very fun film despite involving a kid.
Image cropped from Rutger Hauer and Monique van de Ven by Rob Mieremet / Anefo via Nationaal Archief 925-6530 under CC BY-SA 3.0 nl.