20 Greatest 90s Movie Villains
14. Die Hard With A Vengeance - Simon Gruber
Die Hard's Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman, again) is pretty much the best action villain of all time and, in most cases, bringing in the character's evil brother would've fallen flat. Not here, for Simon Gruber (Jeremy Irons) is almost as great as his predecessor, not least because of his intellect.
Simon Gruber is one of the smartest movie antagonists of them all, and that's why he's so effective. His big scheme to rob the Federal Reserve Bank is so damn clever. In fact, screenwriter Jonathan Hensleigh was interrogated by the FBI during pre-production; they were alarmed by the storyline because they believed a robbery such as Simon Gruber's could actually be carried off. Well, when even the FBI gets spooked, you know you've crafted a good villainous plan.
There's also the way he puts John McClane and the NYPD through all of those twisty, hard-to-beat games as an elaborate distraction, and he just keeps outwitting everyone. In fact, if he hadn't left behind a bottle of aspirin that allowed McClane to deduce where he and his men were transporting the stolen gold, he would've got away with absolutely everything.
Frequently, it's the intelligent villains who are the most effective, and Simon Gruber absolutely reaffirms that, while a perfectly cast Jeremy Irons is typically strong in the role.