John McClane

John McClane Sr. is a fictional character and main protagonist of the Die Hard film series, based on Joe Leland from Roderick Thorp's action novel, Nothing Lasts Forever. McClane was portrayed in all five films by actor Bruce Willis, and he is known for his sardonic one-liners, including the famous catchphrase in every Die Hard film: "Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker". Character portrayal John McClane was originally based on the fictional character Detective Joe Leland from Roderick Thorp's bestselling 1979 novel Nothing Lasts Forever. Other aspects are derived from Frank Malone from Walter Wager's 1987 novel 58 Minutes (adapted as Die Hard 2). Die Hard villain Hans Gruber describes him as "just another American.... who thinks he's John Wayne," to which McClane replies that he "was always partial to Roy Rogers." He is described as being a "foul-mouthed, wisecracking, no-nonsense New York cop with an itchy trigger finger ... and a never-say-die maverick spirit." McClane's marriage is in a constant state of crisis, his vigilantism and disregard for authority have put him in danger of losing his job more than once, and he is a chain-smoker who is described by Inspector Cobb in Die Hard with a Vengeance as being "two steps away from becoming a full blown alcoholic", on which McClane jokingly corrects him saying only "one step".