It is a hot, sticky summer in 1995. You’re in a crowded theater. The screen is filled with the grit of New York City. Suddenly, a voice comes over the phone—smooth as silk, cold as a mid-winter Atlantic breeze, and dripping with a strange, intellectual arrogance.
That was our introduction to Jeremy Irons in Die Hard with a Vengeance.
Honestly, it’s hard to overstate how much of a gamble this was. Replacing Alan Rickman’s Hans Gruber is basically a suicide mission for any actor. Hans was the blueprint. He was the sophisticated, suit-wearing terrorist who changed action movies forever. But then Jeremy Irons stepped onto the screen as Simon Peter Gruber, wearing a dirty tank top and carrying a bottle of aspirin, and somehow, he didn’t just fill those shoes. He ran a marathon in them.
The Jeremy Irons Die Hard Legacy: More Than Just a Sequel
Most people remember this movie as the one where Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson run around Central Park in a taxi. But the real engine of the film is Simon. He’s the older, arguably smarter, and definitely pettier brother of Hans.
What's wild is that Jeremy Irons wasn't even the first choice. Director John McTiernan actually wanted Sean Connery for the part. Can you imagine that? Connery turned it down because he didn't want to play someone so diabolical. David Thewlis was in the running, too.
But Irons brought something the others couldn't: an Oscar-winning gravitas mixed with a "mid-life crisis" energy that made Simon feel dangerous in a way Hans never was. Hans was a planner. Simon was a puppeteer.
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Why Simon Gruber Worked (And Hans Didn't)
Look, I love the original Die Hard. It’s a masterpiece. But if we’re being real, Simon is the superior Gruber in terms of sheer scale.
- The Scope: Hans wanted a few million in bearer bonds from one building. Simon wanted to steal $140 billion in gold from the Federal Reserve Bank.
- The Game: He turned the entirety of Manhattan into a "Simon Says" board.
- The Motive: He claimed it was about revenge for his brother, but as we find out, he didn't even like Hans that much. It was just a convenient smoke screen for the biggest heist in history.
Irons played this with such a cheeky, wonderful confidence. He’s a soldier, not a monster—at least that’s what he tells himself. He’s the only villain who actually outplayed McClane for 90% of the runtime.
The "Dirty Tank Top" Aesthetic: How Irons Built the Character
Jeremy Irons is a guy known for period dramas and Shakespeare. He’s the voice of Scar in The Lion King. So, seeing him in a Die Hard movie was a bit of a shock to the system back then.
He actually had a lot of input on how Simon looked. He wanted the blonde hair. He’s the one who decided Simon should look like he was going through some sort of internal breakdown while simultaneously robbing the city blind.
There’s a great bit of trivia about the scene where he shoots Zeus (Samuel L. Jackson). Right before he pulls the trigger, he’s casually eating an egg. Irons apparently stole that bit of "business" from a stage play he did with Glenn Close. He figured out that characters are scarier when they do mundane things like eating while committing acts of extreme violence. It takes the edge off and makes them feel more human, and therefore, more unpredictable.
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The Chemistry That Saved the Franchise
The movie works because the contrast is so sharp. You’ve got John McClane, who is at his absolute lowest point—divorced, suspended, hungover, and smelling like a brewery. Then you have Simon Gruber, who is sipping coffee and quoting riddles from a command center.
It’s an intellectual battle.
McClane is a brute-force instrument. Simon is a surgeon.
Irons’ voice is a huge part of this. It’s been scientifically studied (no, really) that the "perfect" male voice is a mix between Jeremy Irons and Alan Rickman. Hearing that voice taunt McClane through a payphone is half the fun of the movie.
What Really Happened With That Alternate Ending?
If you've only seen the version that plays on cable, you might think Simon's death was a bit... easy? A lucky shot at a helicopter?
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The original script had a much darker, much more "Gruber-esque" ending. In the alternate version, Simon actually gets away with the gold. He flees to Europe.
Months later, a disgraced McClane tracks him down to a cafe in Hungary. They play a game of "McClane Says" with a small rocket launcher. It’s cold. It’s quiet. It’s way more intellectual.
Ultimately, the studio thought it was too slow for a summer blockbuster. They wanted the big explosion. They wanted the "Yippee-ki-yay." We got the helicopter crash, but the fact that the alternate ending exists shows just how much the writers respected Simon as a character who could actually win.
Actionable Insights for Die Hard Fans
If you're revisiting the Jeremy Irons Die Hard performance today, keep an eye out for these subtle details that make it a masterclass in villainy:
- Watch the eyes: Irons rarely blinks when he’s on the phone. He’s focused, even when he’s joking.
- The German accent: Is it perfect? No. In fact, most of the German spoken in the movie is grammatically "kinda" wrong. But Irons sells the rhythm of it perfectly.
- The "Aspirin" Detail: The whole movie hinges on a bottle of aspirin Simon gives to McClane. It's a moment of pure arrogance—a villain who can't help but show off his "charity" to his victim.
Next time you're looking for a 90s action fix, skip the later sequels. Go straight back to With a Vengeance. Watch it not for the stunts, but for the way Irons manages to be the smartest person in every room he’s in—even when that room is a stolen dump truck.
To get the full experience, track down the "Simon Says" alternate ending on YouTube or a Blu-ray extra. It completely changes how you view the rivalry between McClane and the Gruber family, offering a much more grounded conclusion to the story of the man who almost stole New York.