Gruber is a thief and criminal mastermind from West Germany who holds an office building hostage to steal $640 million in negotiable bearer bonds.

Die Hard was adapted from Roderick Thorp's 1979 thriller Nothing Lasts Forever, and the character Anton Gruber is the basis for the film villain.

[6] One such addition is the scene where Gruber pretends to be an escaped hostage, which was added when the production crew discovered Rickman could speak with a convincing American accent.

[5] A blue screen effect was used for Gruber's death scene, compositing the shot of Rickman falling about 20 feet (6.1 m) against a background plate of the plaza surrounding the building.

"[4] People pointed out the layers of Rickman's portrayal: "an Englishman playing a German who spends a not-insignificant part of his screen time speaking with an American accent."

Empire ranked Gruber fourth on their list of the Greatest Movie Villains of All Time, beaten by Darth Vader, The Joker and Loki.

[15] Empire cited his "most perfect combination of voice and face put to screen for a villain," and point to Rickman's theatrical training for the character's precision and weight.