Batman Vs Superman: 7 Iconic Villain Roles That Prove Irons Is Miscast As Alfred

6. Simon Gruber (Die Hard With A Vengeance)

It would be safe to say that the Die Hard series lives and dies on its villains: the original had the brilliant Alan Rickman as a master thief in a role that put him on the cinema map, and which perennially appears on lists of the Greatest Screen Villains ever. In comparison, Die hard 2 was largely forgettable, thanks in no small part to the lacklustre villain pairing of Franco Nero and William Sadler who really don't have any of Rickman's charisma or style, but then the series got another high point thanks to the return of the Gruber bloodline. Die Hard: With A Vengeance saw Jeremy Irons take the role of Simon Gruber - brother to Hans, and hell-bent on fraternal vengeance. Die Hard: With a Vengeance is a great film that builds suspense in the first half hour or so as Irons plays the role of chessmaster to perfection. His portrayal of Simon is clever enough to show the hints of madness behind the controlled demeanour which he cloaks himself in and three dimensional enough to make one believe that while he may not have liked his brother, he would have cared when some "Irish flat foot" killed him. Simon is utterly driven by vengeance rather than a man who feels duty bound to protect the last remaining pillar of the dynasty that he has served for many years, and crucially in Die Hard : With A Vengeance, Irons' games with John McClane shows he has more in common with the Riddler than with Alfred.