Rutger Hauer

Hauer opened in 1969 with a Dutch television series called Floris, then broke through domestically in Turkish Delight in 1973, a film later named the best his country ever made. Soldier of Orange in 1977 and Spetters in 1980 brought international notice, and by 1982 he was Roy Batty in Blade Runner, the self-aware replicant whose performance unlocked a string of American roles: The Hitcher, Ladyhawke, Escape from Sobibor. From the 1990s on he worked steadily in low-budget films and supporting turns in Batman Begins and Sin City, became a fixture in commercials, and late in life returned to Dutch cinema, winning the 2012 Rembrandt Award for The Heineken Kidnapping. He founded an AIDS awareness organization, supported Sea Shepherd, and was knighted in 2013. He died in July 2019 with 170 roles behind him and a vote from his countrymen as the best actor they'd ever produced.