Rutger Hauer Tribute: ‘Channel Zero’s’ Nick Antosca on the Actor’s ‘Amazing Presence’
When Rutger Hauer passed away this week at the age of 75, he left behind a rich body of work across some of the most formative films in a number of genres.
Though most of his career stretched across the film world, Hauer was also an occasional performer on the TV side as well. Last year, he appeared in a season of the anthology series “Channel Zero,” playing the enigmatic Joseph Peach in “Butcher’s Block.” As a string-puller in a mystical world, Hauer played a wide spectrum of emotions, right up until his very memorable final moment in the season finale.
At the time, Hauer spoke about his experience with his castmates on the show, saying, “We clicked like a motherfucker!”
The same was true for “Channel Zero” creator Nick Antosca, who shared his thoughts with IndieWire about working with Hauer throughout the season, on and off the set.
Read Antosca’s tribute below:
Rutger was an amazing presence. Spending a summer working with him was a great, totally unique experience. He had an exceptional creative imagination and endless energy even in his seventies. He’d write poems about his character and send them to us as YouTube links. He’d ride around the set on his electric bike at 2 a.m. He’d come to watch scenes he wasn’t in on his days off just because he was excited. He brought didgeridoo players to lunch; I’m still not sure why, but it was great. We were lucky to get to spend time with him — all of us.
