303:. 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.
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262:, 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
450:(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
64:
314:
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
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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
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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
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seemingly falls to his death. Gruber is also the subject of a parody video done by Funny Or Die in which Gruber negotiates via walkie talkie with
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Due to the film and the character's iconic status, Gruber has been referenced multiple times in popular culture. The police-comedy show
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361:. Gruber was listed by IGN as #14 of their top 100 villains. Gruber would also go on to influence subsequent movie villains such as
492:. Gruber is the namesake for Texas-based punk rock band "Hans Gruber and the Die Hards", and was among the basis for the character
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who holds the
Nakatomi Plaza hostage to steal $ 640 million in negotiable bearer bonds. His plan is foiled by
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586:"Die Hard at 30: How the every-dude action movie defied expectations and turned Bruce Willis into a star"
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1106:"Alan Rickman on 'Die Hard' Role: "It's Shocking How Thrilling It Is to Shoot a Machine Gun""
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717:""There is no such thing as an action movie." Steven E. de Souza on Screenwriting"
1080:"An Ode to Alan Rickman's Hans Gruber, Possibly the Greatest Screen Villain Ever"
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880:"8 films that are basically Die Hard, from planes to trains and automobiles"
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magazine as the 17th
Greatest Movie Character of All Time out of 100, while
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1131:"Why Alan Rickman Originally Wanted Nothing To Do With His Die Hard Role"
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1006:"Why Hans Gruber remains the greatest action movie villain of all time"
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1055:"Here's Why Alan Rickman In 'Die Hard' Is The Best Movie Bad Guy Ever"
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list of the
Greatest Movie Villains of All Time, only being beaten by
642:"The Science Project That Resulted in 'Die Hard's Most Killer Stunt"
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was named Hans Gruber. Gruber's death was also briefly parodied in
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as his favorite film of all time. Episodes depict the cast going to
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667:"DIE HARD Screenwriter Answers a Question We've Had for Years"
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617:"31 Things We Learned From the 'Die Hard' Commentary Track"
855:"In Praise of Hans Gruber, the Finest Villain of Our Time"
531:"Celebrating the Brilliance of Alan Rickman's Hans Gruber"
333:
placed 12th on the same list. Gruber also ranked No. 4 on
692:"Alan Rickman Brought Hans Gruber's Real Origins To Life"
462:
have also featured references to Gruber. In the ABC show
266:), as the primary antagonist of the third film in the
930:"10 Famous Movies That Copied the "Die Hard" Formula"
767:"17. Hans Gruber - The 100 Greatest Movie Characters"
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of the villain who is really driving the narrative."
742:"4. Hans Gruber - The Greatest Villains Of All Time"
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796:"AFI'S 100 YEARS... 100 HEROES & VILLAINS"
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555:"AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains"
27:Character in Die Hard, played by Alan Rickman
8:
981:"The 9 Best and Worst 'Die Hard' Knock-Offs"
906:"Death is Hard . . . Reincarnation Is Easy"
359:AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains
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438:itself) quite often, as the character of
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400:Due to the popularity of Gruber, actor
956:"The Top 10 Hans Gruber Type Villains"
233:is a fictional character and the main
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7:
831:"Hans Gruber - #14 Top 100 Villains"
1607:Film characters introduced in 1988
1029:O'Sullivan, Michael (2016-01-14).
488:character Les Grossman, played by
349:. Gruber was also selected by the
295:. Rickman was cast after producer
25:
299:saw him during a Broadway run of
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434:makes references to Gruber (and
1205:"Hans Gruber and the Die Hards"
723:from the original on 2015-09-15
597:from the original on 2022-05-09
34:character. For other uses, see
904:Broeske, Pat H. (1994-06-12).
1:
1209:Hans Gruber and the Die Hards
1129:Reyes, Mike (16 April 2015).
954:Sully, Cameron (2019-10-10).
665:Marnell, Blair (2017-03-05).
411:Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
214:Marcel Gruber (son; deceased)
178:Volksfrei Movement (based on
979:Meyer, Joshua (2018-07-11).
805:. 2014-03-28. Archived from
773:. 2011-11-07. Archived from
529:Nathan, Micah (2016-01-15).
502:book series of the same name
36:Hans Gruber (disambiguation)
1104:Ritman, Alex (2015-04-16).
715:Frazier, Dan (2015-08-24).
615:Kirk, Jeremy (2011-07-19).
404:ended up being cast as the
279:Hans Gruber ranked 46th on
1628:
1587:Fictional German criminals
1004:George, Tim (2016-12-07).
719:. Creative Screenwriting.
640:Failes, Ian (2018-08-13).
504:, described by its author
30:This article is about the
29:
1532:
1452:Die Hard with a Vengeance
1406:Trilogy 2: Viva Las Vegas
1324:Die Hard with a Vengeance
1264:
373:Cyrus "The Virus" Grissom
310:wrote the screenplay for
273:Die Hard with a Vengeance
61:
51:
1577:Fictional mass murderers
690:Mark, Jon (2016-01-15).
583:Power, Ed (2019-11-26).
301:Les Liaisons Dangereuses
237:of the 1988 action film
100:Die Hard: Nakatomi Plaza
803:American Film Institute
562:American Film Institute
351:American Film Institute
195:(semi-automatic pistol)
154:In-universe information
18:Hans Gruber (character)
1582:Fictional crime bosses
1466:A Good Day to Die Hard
1338:A Good Day to Die Hard
1110:The Hollywood Reporter
391:and Egor Korshunov in
1459:Live Free or Die Hard
1331:Live Free or Die Hard
1281:Nothing Lasts Forever
475:The Lego Batman Movie
406:Sheriff of Nottingham
193:Heckler & Koch P7
1597:Fictional terrorists
1592:Fictional kidnappers
1572:Action film villains
319:Reception and legacy
1035:The Washington Post
621:Film School Rejects
206:(brother; deceased)
41:Fictional character
1612:Male film villains
910:The New York Times
465:American Housewife
431:Brooklyn Nine-Nine
308:Steven E. de Souza
120:Steven E. de Souza
71:as Hans Gruber in
1602:Fictional thieves
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480:Alfred Pennyworth
478:in a scene where
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512:with fairies".
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1279:
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1212:. Retrieved
1208:
1199:
1188:. Retrieved
1186:. 2019-01-31
1184:Funny Or Die
1183:
1174:
1163:. Retrieved
1161:. 2018-07-13
1158:
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1086:. 2016-01-14
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1061:. 2018-03-21
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936:. 2017-03-30
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886:. 2017-02-22
883:
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863:. Retrieved
861:. 2016-01-14
858:
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807:the original
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775:the original
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748:. 2019-07-30
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440:Jake Peralta
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399:
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386:
376:
366:
363:Howard Payne
334:
331:John McClane
324:
322:
311:
305:
300:
293:Alan Rickman
290:
278:
271:
264:Jeremy Irons
260:John McClane
252:East Germany
249:
245:Alan Rickman
238:
230:
229:
204:Simon Gruber
148:Alan Rickman
144:Portrayed by
133:Anton Gruber
98:
85:
72:
69:Alan Rickman
52:
31:
1476:Other media
1430:Soundtracks
1376:Video games
1362:Hans Gruber
1135:CinemaBlend
1010:Den of Geek
884:Digital Spy
535:Vanity Fair
506:Eoin Colfer
423:film series
388:Cliffhanger
383:Eric Qualen
339:Darth Vader
297:Joel Silver
231:Hans Gruber
223:East German
219:Nationality
175:Affiliation
47:Hans Gruber
1561:Categories
1445:Die Hard 2
1349:Characters
1317:Die Hard 2
1292:58 Minutes
1214:2019-10-23
1190:2019-10-23
1165:2019-10-23
1140:2019-10-23
1115:2019-10-23
1090:2019-10-23
1065:2019-10-23
1040:2019-10-24
1015:2019-10-23
990:2019-10-24
965:2019-10-24
940:2019-10-24
915:2019-10-24
890:2019-10-24
865:2019-10-24
840:2019-10-23
816:2019-10-23
781:2019-10-23
752:2019-10-23
727:2019-10-27
701:2019-10-23
676:2019-10-23
651:2019-10-23
626:2019-10-23
601:2019-10-23
540:2019-10-23
516:References
490:Tom Cruise
453:The Office
287:Production
235:antagonist
184:(formerly)
167:Occupation
115:Jeb Stuart
108:Created by
1502:Fox Plaza
1387:(1990–91)
1367:Al Powell
1159:USA Today
696:Inquisitr
646:Thrillist
568:29 August
448:Fox Plaza
343:The Joker
268:franchise
162:Bill Clay
57:character
1567:Die Hard
1545:Category
1516:Ricochet
1484:Year One
1438:Die Hard
1420:Vendetta
1384:Die Hard
1310:Die Hard
1257:Die Hard
1059:LadBible
721:Archived
595:Archived
510:Die Hard
444:Die Hard
436:Die Hard
335:Empire's
312:Die Hard
256:New York
240:Die Hard
211:Children
170:Criminal
129:Based on
87:Die Hard
74:Die Hard
54:Die Hard
32:Die Hard
1495:Related
1399:Trilogy
671:Nerdist
500:of the
459:Friends
418:in the
378:Con Air
355:villain
353:as #46
1511:(film)
1392:Arcade
1084:People
771:Empire
746:Empire
564:. 2005
496:, the
442:cites
326:Empire
200:Family
189:Weapon
103:(2002)
90:(1988)
1302:Films
985:/FILM
859:Maxim
810:(PDF)
799:(PDF)
558:(PDF)
368:Speed
159:Alias
570:2020
508:as "
456:and
347:Loki
345:and
258:cop
1289:'s
1271:'s
835:IGN
470:pig
408:in
385:in
375:in
365:in
357:on
136:by
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