The greatest villains ever written don’t just match the hero’s charisma and skill set —‚they rise above them. They’re always just one step ahead in order to create the necessary conflict for the hero to go through their journey. Hans Gruber and John McClane matched each other so well. The audience reveled in their exchanges.
Hans never broke character. He was always all-knowing. He was always sophisticated. He always knew how to utilize the people he surrounded himself with. He was always calculating his next move calmly. And yes, he always remained likable to the point where the audience was rooting for him just as much as they were for John McClane. It’s a testament to the writers, one of whom — Steven E. de Souza — ScreenCraft was lucky enough to have as a judge of our Action & Thriller Screenplay Contest.
And even if John McClane got the better of him in the end, Hans Gruber will forever remain as, yes, the greatest movie villain of all time.
