A powerful immortal, Lothos had been slumbering for years, to be wakened in a great bloodbath, when Buffy came along.

Lothos had thought that this Slayer would be no different from the others. He had defeated them all easily, and she should have been just as easy. He was wrong.

Lothos was quite arrogant and sure of his power. When he first met Buffy, Merrick told him that she wasn't ready, and so he left her alone, waiting until she was ripe. He found no pleasure in defeating someone unprepared, and was confident that he could kill her when she was finally ready. Later, when she was "unmasked" (Benny found out who she was) Amilyn (Lothos' right hand man) urged Lothos to go after her, just as he had urged during their first encounter with Buffy. Lothos, however, wanted to wait until Saturday, when she went to the dance. Evidently he wanted to bring her down publicly. In the end, it was his overconfidence that defeated him (I'll let you see the movie as an explanation).

Lothos is purely evil, but does have a sense of fun. He toys with Buffy and with his offspring Amilyn. He wears a black suit and cape, not out of fondness for the fashion (he didn't wear it in previous eras) but more, I think, from a sense of the appropriate, as a kind of in-joke. It is the stereotypical costume and he finds a certain amount of humor in wearing it.

Lothos does not suffer from fear of crucifixes as do most vampires (possibly because of his age and great power). At least, if he does fear them, he can overcome it very well. Buffy at one point holds a cross up to him, and Lothos reaches out disdainfully, mocking her "puny faith", and sets it alight with his hand.

Lothos is fairly typical as a vampire, but holds some few surprises.

The role of Lothos is played by Dutch actor Rutger Hauer. Hauer was born on January 23rd in 1944 in the city of Amsterdam, in the Netherlands, to parents who were both actors. When only 15 years old he left home to become a sailor - a career which was cut short when he was discovered to be colorblind.

He then attended an acting school, joined the Dutch Army for a few months, and resumed acting again after that. Hauer worked in a theater in Switzerland before touring his home country with a different theater group. After 1972, the actor began to pursue film work.

It is this for which Hauer is best known. The actor has appeared in many films (follow the links below for evidence of this) including such quality genre fare as: Blade Runner & Ladyhawke as well as low-quality sci-fi like Omega Doom! Whatever Hauer appears in, he lends a noble weight and emotional depth to his characters - always enriching the movies in which he appears. In this, Buffy the Vampire Slayer is no exception.

Rutger Hauer agreed to play Lothos on the strength of Joss Whedon's earlier drafts of Buffy, and was reportedly unhappy with the lighter tone that ended up on screen - though viewers of the movie know that Lothos' scenes remained dark and solemn, with the humor coming across subtley. According to director Fran Rubel Kuzui, Hauer inisted on playing the "Buffy lays down in Lothos' arms" dream sequence in the nude, until a plea to the contrary from Kristy "Buffy" Swanson changed his mind.

To prepare for the role (though Hauer clearly has had much experience, and this was a gentler role from his usual fare) the Dutch actor actually met with a man who considered himself to be a real vampire. Actually, after their time spent together, Hauer was very nearly convinced of the man's undead status as well!

In the end, Hauer's performance in Buffy is quite memorable - though not as much as the likes of his Roy Batty (in Blade Runner). It must also be said that Kristy (as the star) and Luke Perry (as hero sidekick Pike) deservedly get the most attention, and Pee-Wee Herman star Paul Reubens (as evil sidekick Amilyn) steals most scenes from under Hauer's nose.

Some links...

Our Boy Rutger Hauer
Anne's Rutger Hauer Page
Grendel's Rutger Hauer Page