Rutger Hauer was urged early in his career to change his name to something that would be easier to say and remember.
But the Dutch-born actor resisted doing so, explaining "If you're good enough, people will remember your name.''
He was right.
People will remember Hauer for his various menacing roles in movies such as the kill-happy android in "Blade Runner,'' starring Harrison Ford.
His other screen credits were in "Nighthawks,'' "Sin City,'' "Batman Begins,'' and he won a Golden Globe award in 1988 for "Escape from Sobibor.''
His agent says Hauer died last week at his home in the Netherlands.
He was 75.