RIP Rutger Hauer: Guillermo Del Toro, Ice T and More Pay Tribute

“The Shape of Water” director remembers “an intense, deep, genuine and magnetic actor”

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The passing of famed “Blade Runner” actor Rutger Hauer has prompted an outpouring of tributes from filmmakers, actors, and fans on Twitter, honoring a career highlighted by one of the most famous monologues in sci-fi history.

Director Guillermo Del Toro praised Hauer as “an intense, deep, genuine and magnetic actor that brought truth, power and beauty to his films.” “Law and Order: SVU” star Ice-T reflected on the time he worked with Hauer on the action film “Surviving the Game,” while KISS frontman Gene Simmons posted a picture of a VHS copy of “Wanted Dead or Alive,” in which the rock star played a terrorist being hunted down by a CIA agent played by Hauer.

Hauer’s “Blade Runner” co-star Daryl Hannah said in a statement to Fox News Wednesday, “I have a profound love and respect for Rutger Hauer. I am heartbroken to learn he has left us. He was unpredictable, extremely human, inspired, electric and mesmerizing.”

She continued: “It was thrilling to work with him as an actor and I admired his deep commitment as an activist, with his support of the important work of Sea Shepard and of those who fight against the scourge of AIDS.

But most quoted the famous “Tears In Rain” speech Hauer uttered as the replicant Roy Batty, one that was not a part of Hampton Fancher’s script and was improvised on set.

“The death of Rutger Hauer’s a particularly tough one, because he had such a singular onscreen presence,” wrote Birth.Movies.Death editor Scott Wampler. “There’s no one else quite like him, never was, and we’re probably not getting another one. What a life that man had.”

“We’re still asking the questions of memory & existence he articulated with his eyes,” wrote critic Siddhant Adlakha.

Beyond “Blade Runner,” Hauer’s fans reminisced on more of their favorite moments from his career. Some discussed the cult creature feature “Split Second,” in which Hauer plays a cop tasked with hunting down a killer monster in the tunnels of a flooded dystopian London. Others remembered him in “The Hitcher,” in which he played a psychopathic serial killer who murders drivers who give him a ride.

And while cinephiles have given most of the tributes, some gamers have also noted that the last role in Hauer’s career was in the recently released video game “Kingdom Hearts III” as the villainous Master Xehanort, a role that was previously played by Leonard Nimoy prior to his death in 2015.

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“Farewell, Rutger. Too young, old friend,” wrote screenwriter Eric Red. “John Ryder in ‘The Hitcher’ is the umbilical cord we’ll always share. Everybody knew how bigger-than-life you were as a person but I’ll always remember your outrageous sense of humor and the laughs we had.”

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