Like Tears in Rain: A Stunning, Intimate Look at Rutger Hauer: The Genre Icon

If you love genre films—horror, sci-fi, fantasy, the kind of cinema that burns itself into your brain—you owe Rutger Hauer a beer, a toast, and maybe a late-night Blade Runner rewatch. The man wasn’t just an actor; he was a force of nature, a legend who walked the line between hero and villain with effortless cool. He was the rare performer who could elevate schlock to high art and bring unexpected depth to the darkest of roles. In Like Tears in Rain, director Sanna Fabery de Jonge (Hauer’s goddaughter) peels back the curtain on the enigmatic, one-of-a-kind performer who changed genre cinema forever.

For decades, Hauer was the gold standard of intense, unpredictable performances. He had an almost supernatural ability to steal scenes, even when sharing the screen with Hollywood heavyweights. Need a terrifying hitchhiker who embodies pure evil? See The Hitcher. A grizzled, blind swordsman cutting down bad guys with a cane sword? Blind Fury. A vampire king? Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And, of course, Roy Batty—the tragic, poetic android in Blade Runner, whose final speech is one of the most haunting, heart-wrenching moments in all of sci-fi (the documentary and anecdotal evidence points out that Hauer played a key role in writing those iconic lines). Even when playing monsters, assassins, and lunatics, Hauer found the humanity in his characters, making them compelling in a way few actors ever could.

Despite being one of the most recognizable and beloved faces in genre cinema, Hauer always maintained an air of mystery. He wasn’t a Hollywood insider, nor was he the kind of actor who chased fame. He worked on his own terms, often favoring European productions over blockbuster roles, and lived life as adventurously as the characters he played. Like Tears in Rain does an incredible job of showcasing this side of him. Through never-before-seen home videos, interviews with close friends (Whoopi Goldberg, Mickey Rourke, Robert Rodriguez, Vincent D’Onofrio), and archival footage, we see Hauer as more than just a screen legend. We see him as a dreamer, an adventurer, a man who refused to be tied down by the expectations of Hollywood.

One of the most fascinating aspects of the documentary is its glimpse into Hauer’s personal archive. The man documented everything—his travels, his creative process, his quiet moments in nature. We see him in Friesland, on his boat, in his camper, or wandering through the wilderness, always searching for something just out of reach. His second wife, Ineke, shares deeply personal stories about their life together, painting a picture of a man who was just as captivating off-screen as he was on it.

For fans of horror and sci-fi, this documentary is a gift. It doesn’t just honor Hauer’s legacy—it cements why he mattered. He was never Hollywood-polished, never part of the machine. He was a wild card, a rebel, a storyteller who slipped effortlessly between cult classics and prestige cinema, leaving an undeniable mark on every film he touched.

Perhaps the most touching moments come from those who knew him best. Whoopi Goldberg recalls him as her first real friend in Hollywood, someone she could trust completely. Mickey Rourke, ever the Hollywood outsider himself, describes Hauer as someone who played by his own rules and refused to conform. Director Robert Rodriguez, who worked with Hauer on Sin City, perfectly encapsulates what made him so special: “He wasn’t that kind of star, where ‘I got to go put myself out there so that people will see me and hire me for that.’ He’s like, ‘if it comes, it comes—I don’t want to go be something I’m not.’”

That philosophy—of staying true to himself—made Hauer a rarity in the film industry. He could’ve been a bigger star, could’ve chased roles in Hollywood blockbusters, but that wasn’t his style. Instead, he sought out projects that interested him, no matter how strange or unconventional. That’s why his filmography is filled with such an eclectic mix of titles, from high-concept sci-fi like Split Second to medieval epics like Flesh+Blood to horror oddities like Hemoglobin. He didn’t just stick to one genre—he embraced them all, making even the most obscure films worth watching.

Like Tears in Rain captures this spirit beautifully. It doesn’t just focus on Hauer’s most famous roles—it highlights the full spectrum of his career, from his early Dutch films with Paul Verhoeven (Turkish Delight, Soldier of Orange) to his later years working with indie directors and up-and-coming filmmakers. The documentary makes it clear that for Hauer, acting wasn’t just a job—it was a passion. He loved the craft, loved the challenge, and most of all, loved the freedom it gave him to explore different aspects of himself.

The title of the documentary, of course, comes from Blade Runner, the film that solidified Hauer’s place in cinematic history. His final monologue in the film—partially improvised—remains one of the most quoted and analyzed moments in science fiction. It’s fitting, then, that Like Tears in Rain serves as a tribute to a man who, much like his character Roy Batty, burned brightly and left behind a legacy that will never fade.

Rutger Hauer may be gone, but this documentary proves that there is no other actor I would rather watch C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate with. A giant tribute to a giant actor. You can find the documentary on Viaplay today.