Characters
- Joseph Leland
- Leland is now a retired NYPD police officer on his way to Los Angeles to visit his daughter for a Christmas party hosted by her boss, Mr. Rivers. Although retired, he still habitually carries his Browning Hi-Power pistol with him. Leland is still somewhat depressed that his wife has left him, and the relationship between him and his daughter is strained. He hopes that this visit will help the relationship, but when the building is attacked, he must jump into action and hope that he can save the 74 hostages, including his daughter. In Die Hard, his name is John McClane and he is portrayed by Bruce Willis.
- Stephanie Gennaro
- The only daughter of Joseph Leland and an important executive to the Klaxon Oil building. She is sleeping with another executive named Harry Ellis. She invited her father to the party in hopes to see him and wish him a Merry Christmas, but she soon falls hostage to Anton "Little Tony" Gruber and must believe that her father can do the impossible. The book ends with Stephanie falling to her death after Leland shoots Gruber next to a high rise window and he grabs her as he falls through the window. In Die Hard, instead of the daughter being held hostage, it is McClane's wife named Holly Gennero and is portrayed by Bonnie Bedelia. Also, the movie ends instead with Gruber attempting to do the same to Holly only to fail due to McClane's intervention.
- Anton "Little Tony" Gruber
- Anton Gruber is of German heritage and is the leader of the group of terrorists who have taken over the Klaxon Oil Building. Anton is his real name but people (including Leland) often refer to him as "Little Tony" or "Tony" just as a nickname. Anton Gruber is a ruthless man who will stop at nothing to complete his goal, no matter whom he has to kill. In Die Hard, his name is Hans Gruber and is portrayed by Alan Rickman.
- Sergeant Al Powell
- Al Powell is sent to the Klaxon Building to check on an emergency call made by Leland and is soon thrown into radio contact with him and monitored by Anton Gruber. Al Powell tries to talk Leland into keeping calm and not to lose his cool and sees Leland as the true hero that he is. Al Powell ends up saving Leland from Karl and getting him into an ambulance. In Die Hard, he is portrayed by Reginald VelJohnson.
- Deputy Chief Dwayne T. Robinson
- Dwayne Robinson is the deputy chief of police and is sent in to take charge of the situation at hand. He automatically dislikes Leland for what he is doing and feels that he is only making things worse for the hostages. He tries to convince himself that Leland could be one of the terrorists or a nutjob but is soon on Leland's side when he finds out what Leland's been doing. Dwayne is shot and killed by Karl at the end of the novel. He survives in the film adaptation, and never sides with Leland (McClane in the film). In Die Hard, he is portrayed by the late Paul Gleason.
- Karl
- Karl is Anton's right hand man. Near the beginning of the novel, Leland kills his younger brother, Hans, and throughout the remainder of the novel, Karl wants nothing but Leland's blood. He is the last surviving terrorist after Anton is killed by Leland and appears at the end of novel supposedly dead but comes back with intentions to kill Leland. However, he is shot to death by Al Powell. In Die Hard, he is portrayed by the late Alexander Godunov, and is first seen killing the guards in the lobby.
- Mr. Rivers
- Mr. Rivers is the president of the Klaxon Oil Building and is the one who hosted the Christmas party and arranged the ride in for Leland. Mr. Rivers is soon disliked by Leland and is taken hostage by Anton to get the safe code in order to get the millions of dollars in the safe. Unfortunately, Mr. Rivers refuses to give the code and Anton shoots him in the lapel, killing him. In Die Hard, Rivers' name is Joseph Takagi and is portrayed by James Shigeta. Hans executes him by shooting him in the head.
- Harry Ellis
- Ellis is an executive in the Klaxon Oil Building and is sleeping with Stephanie Leland Gennaro and does drugs (such as cocaine), which makes Joe Leland dislike him. In the middle of the novel, Ellis tries to help the terrorists and help himself by trying to talk Leland into giving himself up. When Leland refuses Ellis' proposal, Anton kills Ellis, which makes Leland feel responsible for his death. In Die Hard, Ellis is portrayed by Hart Bochner.
Read more about this topic: Nothing Lasts Forever (1979 Novel)
Famous quotes containing the word characters:
“Trial. A formal inquiry designed to prove and put upon record the blameless characters of judges, advocates and jurors.”
—Ambrose Bierce (18421914)
“My characters never die screaming in rage. They attempt to pull themselves back together and go on. And thats basically a conservative view of life.”
—Jane Smiley (b. 1949)