And…Action! Golden Globe winner Rutger Hauer brings the Flying Dutchman back to life – in a unique collaboration with the nautical lifestyle brand Gaastra. Mr. Rutger Hauer, Netherlands’ most successful actor especially known from Ridley Scott’s cult film Blade Runner, and a passionate sailor himself, plays the character role of the Flying Dutchman Captain Barend Fokke in this contemporary art short film. The Frisian-born captain was renowned for the uncanny speed of his regular trips from the Dutch Republic to the spice islands of Java for the Dutch East India Company in the 17th century. In 1678, he was literally „flying“ over the oceans in 3 months and 4 days – which was about half of the time needed to travel this distance at that time. He was suspected of being in league with the Devil and he is often considered to have been a model for the legendary captain of the Flying Dutchman. The Flying Dutchman is a ghost ship that, according to legend, is doomed to sail around the Cape of Good Hope for eternity…
Rutger Hauer on the Flying Dutchman project
“I fell in love with the sea. Making this film and posing on sailboats that I dreamed about when I was a fourteen-year-old boy was a fantastic experience. I made drawings of those ships day after day. When I was fifteen I went to sea but my career as a captain was short-lived. However my passion for sailing has endured.”
Read more about our Legendary Season 2014!