Hans Gruber | |
---|---|
Die Hard character | |
First appearance | Die Hard (1988) |
Last appearance | Die Hard: Nakatomi Plaza (2002) |
Created by | |
Based on | Anton Gruber by Roderick Thorp |
Portrayed by | Alan Rickman |
In-universe information | |
Alias | Bill Clay |
Occupation | Criminal |
Affiliation | Volksfrei Movement (based on Red Army Faction) (formerly) |
Weapon | Heckler & Koch P7 (semi-automatic pistol) |
Family | Simon Gruber (brother; deceased) |
Children | Marcel Gruber (son; deceased) |
Nationality | East German |
Hans Gruber is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the 1988 action film Die Hard , portrayed by Alan Rickman.
Gruber is a thief and criminal mastermind from East Germany who holds the Nakatomi Plaza hostage to steal $640 million in negotiable bearer bonds. His plan is foiled by New York cop John McClane, who happened upon Gruber's plot by mistake. Since his first appearance, Gruber has been cemented as one of the most iconic villains in film history – as well as often being ranked as the greatest action movie villain of all time and one of Rickman's most iconic roles. The villain became so popular with movie fans that the producers introduced his brother, Simon (played by Jeremy Irons), as the primary antagonist of the third film in the franchise – Die Hard with a Vengeance . [1]
Hans Gruber was the first major film role given to Alan Rickman. Rickman was cast after producer Joel Silver saw him during a Broadway run of Les Liaisons Dangereuses. A blue screen was used for the now infamous scene of Gruber's death. Rickman was to be dropped 40 feet (12 m), and was let go sooner than expected, causing the shocked look of fear on Gruber's face to be genuine. The first shot taken ended up being the one used in the movie. The scene where Gruber pretends to be an escaped hostage named Bill Clay was not originally included in the script, and was added once the production crew discovered that Rickman could pull off a convincing American accent. According to actor Hans Buhringer, who portrayed the criminal Fritz in the film, Rickman researched meticulously to perfect his German accent and was even able to achieve the German-English dialect throughout the film. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
Screenwriter Steven E. de Souza wrote the screenplay for Die Hard with the mindset of Gruber being the protagonist of the story. De Souza stated, "If he had not planned the robbery and put it together, Bruce Willis would have just gone to the party and reconciled or not with his wife. You should sometimes think about looking at your movie through the point of view of the villain who is really driving the narrative." [7]
Gruber has gone on to become one of the most iconic villains in cinematic history and is often considered one of the greatest. Gruber was listed by Empire magazine as the 17th Greatest Movie Character of All Time out of 100, while John McClane placed 12th on the same list. Gruber also ranked No. 4 on Empire's list of the Greatest Movie Villains of All Time, only being beaten by Darth Vader, The Joker and Loki. [8] [9] Gruber was also selected by the American Film Institute as #46 villain on AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains. [10] Gruber was listed by IGN as #14 of their top 100 villains. [11] Gruber would also go on to influence subsequent movie villains such as Howard Payne in Speed , Cyrus "The Virus" Grissom in Con Air , Eric Qualen in Cliffhanger and Egor Korshunov in Air Force One . [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18]
Due to the popularity of Gruber, actor Alan Rickman ended up being cast as the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves in 1991, and was subsequently said to be typecast as villainous characters (despite playing other kinds of characters more frequently) until he portrayed the anti-hero Severus Snape in the Harry Potter film series. [19] [20] [21] [22] [23]
Due to the film and the character's iconic status, Gruber has been referenced multiple times in popular culture. The police-comedy show Brooklyn Nine-Nine makes references to Gruber (and Die Hard itself) quite often, as the character of Jake Peralta cites Die Hard as his favorite film of all time. Episodes depict the cast going to Fox Plaza (which acted as the stand-in for Nakatomi Plaza in the film and where the majority of the film was shot) and re-enacting iconic scenes from the film, including Gruber's death, as well as a Christmas themed episode where Peralta is thrown into a "Die Hard-esque" scenario involving terrorists and hostages. Other shows such as The Office and Friends have also featured references to Gruber. In the ABC show American Housewife , a family pet pig was named Hans Gruber. Gruber's death was also briefly parodied in The Lego Batman Movie in a scene where Alfred Pennyworth seemingly falls to his death. [24] Gruber is also the subject of a parody video done by Funny Or Die in which Gruber negotiates via walkie talkie with Tropic Thunder character Les Grossman, played by Tom Cruise. [25] Gruber is the namesake for Texas-based punk rock band "Hans Gruber and the Die Hards", and was among the basis for the character Artemis Fowl II, the main antagonist of the book series of the same name, described by its author Eoin Colfer as "Die Hard with fairies". [26]
Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman was an English actor and director. Known for his distinctive deep, languid voice, he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London and became a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), performing in modern and classical theatre productions. He played the Vicomte de Valmont in the RSC stage production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses in 1985, and after the production transferred to the West End in 1986 and Broadway in 1987, he was nominated for a Tony Award.
Die Hard is a 1988 American action thriller film directed by John McTiernan and written by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza based on the 1979 novel Nothing Lasts Forever by Roderick Thorp. It stars Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Alexander Godunov, and Bonnie Bedelia, with Reginald VelJohnson, William Atherton, Paul Gleason, and Hart Bochner in supporting roles. Die Hard follows New York City police detective John McClane (Willis) who is caught up in a terrorist takeover of a Los Angeles skyscraper while visiting his estranged wife.
Die Hard with a Vengeance is a 1995 American action thriller film directed by John McTiernan and written by Jonathan Hensleigh, which is based on the screenplay Simon Says by Hensleigh and the characters created by Roderick Thorp for his 1979 novel Nothing Lasts Forever. Die Hard with a Vengeance is the third film in the Die Hard film series after Die Hard 2 and was later followed by Live Free or Die Hard and A Good Day to Die Hard.
Die Hard 2 is a 1990 American action thriller film directed by Renny Harlin, written by Steven E. de Souza and Doug Richardson, co-produced by Joel Silver, and starring Bruce Willis as John McClane alongside Bonnie Bedelia, William Sadler, Art Evans, William Atherton, Franco Nero, Dennis Franz, Fred Thompson, John Amos, and Reginald VelJohnson. The second installment in the Die Hard film series, the film was released on July 4, 1990, in the United States.
Live Free or Die Hard is a 2007 American action thriller film directed by Len Wiseman, and serves as the fourth installment in the Die Hard film series. It is based on the 1997 article "A Farewell to Arms" written for Wired magazine by John Carlin. The film's name is adapted from New Hampshire's state motto, "Live Free or Die".
Die Hard: Vendetta is a 2002 first-person shooter video game developed by Bits Studios. The game was co-published by Fox Interactive, alongside Vivendi Universal Games International in Europe under their NDA Productions subsidiary, and Sierra Entertainment/Vivendi Universal Games in North America. Taking place after the first three Die Hard films, players take on terrorists as John McClane. Reginald VelJohnson reprises his role as Sgt. Al Powell. McClane's daughter, Lucy, is an L.A.P.D. member in the game.
John McClane Sr. is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Die Hard film series, based on Joe Leland from Roderick Thorp's action novel Nothing Lasts Forever. McClane was portrayed in all five films by actor Bruce Willis, and he is known for his sardonic one-liners, including the famous catchphrase in every Die Hard film: "Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker".
Die Hard is the name of three video games, one released for the Commodore 64 in 1990, one released for the TurboGrafx-16 in 1990 and the other for the NES in 1991 by Activision. Its gameplay is based on the 1988 film of the same name. During the game, the player rescues hostages and battles with terrorists from a top view perspective at Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles.
Ursula is a fictional character who appears in Walt Disney Pictures' animated film The Little Mermaid (1989). Voiced by actress Pat Carroll, Ursula is a villainous Cecaelian sea witch who offers a mermaid princess named Ariel a temporary opportunity to become human so that she may earn the love of Prince Eric within three days. However, Ursula is, in fact, determined to sabotage Ariel's chances so that she can ultimately usurp King Triton's position as ruler of the oceans.
Nothing Lasts Forever is a 1979 action thriller novel by American author Roderick Thorp, a sequel to his 1966 novel The Detective. The novel is mostly known through its 1988 film adaptation Die Hard, starring Bruce Willis. In 2012, the book was brought back into print and released as an ebook for the 24th anniversary of the film.
The reluctant hero is a heroic archetype typically found in fiction. The reluctant hero is typically portrayed either as an everyman forced into surreal situations which require him to rise to heroism and its acts, or as a person with special abilities who nonetheless reveals a desire to avoid using those abilities for selfless benefit. In either case, the reluctant hero does not initially seek adventure or the opportunity to do good, and their apparent selfishness may induct them into the category of antiheroes. The reluctant hero differs from the antihero in that the story arc of the former inevitably results in their becoming a true hero.
Die Hard: Nakatomi Plaza is a first-person shooter video game developed by Piranha Games and was co-published by Fox Interactive and Vivendi Universal Games through its subsidiary Sierra Entertainment exclusively for Microsoft Windows. The game originally used a modified Build engine, later the GoldSrc engine, before it was finally moved to the Lithtech engine. The game features the voice of Reginald VelJohnson, reprising his role as Al Powell.
Die Hard is an American action film series that originated with Roderick Thorp's 1979 novel Nothing Lasts Forever. All five films revolve around the main character of John McClane, a police detective who continually finds himself in the middle of a crisis where he is the only hope against disaster. The films have grossed a combined $1.4 billion worldwide.
One Tough Bastard, also known as One Man's Justice, is a 1995 American action thriller film directed by Kurt Wimmer in his feature film debut, and starring Brian Bosworth, Bruce Payne and M.C. Hammer. It premiered in the United States on HBO.
A Good Day to Die Hard is a 2013 American action thriller film and the fifth and final installment in the Die Hard film series. The film was directed by John Moore and written by Skip Woods, and stars Bruce Willis as John McClane in his final film in the franchise. The main plot finds McClane traveling to Russia to get his estranged son, Jack, an undercover CIA agent, out of prison. He is soon caught in the crossfire of a global terrorist plot. Alongside Willis, the film also stars Jai Courtney, Cole Hauser, Yulia Snigir, and Sebastian Koch.
"Work Hard or Die Trying, Girl" is the first episode and season premiere of the fifth season of the animated comedy series Bob's Burgers and the overall 68th episode, and is written by Nora Smith and directed by Jennifer Coyle. It aired on Fox in the United States on October 5, 2014.
Die Hard: Year One is an eight-issue comic book limited series which serves as a prequel to the film Die Hard and was published by Boom! Studios and written by Howard Chaykin. There were 8 comic issues produced in the series between September 2009 and April 2010. Its story is set in 1976 and follows John McClane as a rookie cop in the NYPD.
Sergeant Al Powell is a fictional character from the 1988 action film Die Hard, portrayed by Reginald VelJohnson. Powell is an off-duty police officer who gets called into work to investigate a potential hostage situation at Nakatomi Plaza. Powell then becomes a central character in the conflict, and a source of moral support for protagonist John McClane. VelJohnson would reprise his role in the sequel film Die Hard 2 (1990) and the second season of the action comedy/spy-drama television series Chuck (2008).
Alan Rickman was an English actor of the stage and screen. Rickman gained international acclaim for his role as Hans Gruber in the action film Die Hard (1988) and Severus Snape in the Harry Potter film series (2001–2011). He is also known for his performances in films such as the romance drama Truly, Madly, Deeply (1991), Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), Ang Lee's adaptation of the Jane Austen novel Sense and Sensibility (1995), Neil Jordan's historical drama Michael Collins (1995), Richard Curtis' romantic comedy Love Actually (2003), and the science fiction comedies Galaxy Quest (1999) and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005).