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 Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die.

— Rutger Hauer’s closing soliloquy in “Blade Runner” (1982), Ridley Scott’s seminal adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s 1968 science fiction novel, “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep.”  The actor co-wrote the speech that appears in the movie.

Hauer died Friday at age 75.  The news of his passing was reported today.

His role in “Blade Runner” will always define him in my mind.  But I also grew up seeing him in “Ladyhawke” (1985), “The Hitcher” (1986) and “Blind Fury” (1989); and later was pleased to discover him in “Batman Begins” and “Sin City” (2005).  Believe it or not, it was “The Hitcher” and not “Blade Runner” that first made me love Hauer’s performances.  I was still in early high school when I saw both films.  The former was among the first horror movies I truly loved, and I wasn’t yet mature enough to fully appreciate the latter.

Hauer was Knight in the Dutch Order of the Netherlands Lion.

What an amazing artist, whose creativity in his craft brought so much enjoyment to others.