John McClane

Detective Lieutenant John McClane
Bruce Willis as John McClane in Live Free or Die Hard/Die Hard 4.0.
First appearance	Die Hard (1988)
Last appearance	A Good Day to Die Hard (2013)
Created by	Roderick Thorp and based on the character of Detective Joe Leland from the novel Nothing Lasts Forever
Portrayed by	Bruce Willis
Voiced by	Eric Allen Baker (Trilogy) Michael Blanchard (Die Hard: Vendetta, Die Hard: Nakatomi Plaza) Jamey Scott (Die Hard Trilogy 2: Viva Las Vegas) Dave Wittenberg (Die Hard: Vendetta, Die Hard: Nakatomi Plaza)
Information
Aliases	Cowboy Roy Billy McClane Partner
Gender	Male
Occupation	New York City Police Detective
Title	Detective Lieutenant
Spouse(s)	Holly M. Gennero-McClane (divorced, 1980-1995)
Children	Lucy Gennero-McClane John "Jack" McClane Jr.
Nationality	Irish-American

John McClane is the main protagonist of the Die Hard film series. He is portrayed by Bruce Willis. He is known for his sardonic one-liners, including the famous catchphrase "Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker".

John McClane was originally based on the fictional character Detective Joe Leland from Roderick Thorp's bestselling novel, Nothing Lasts Forever. Other aspects are derived from Frank Malone from Walter Wager's novel 58 Minutes (adapted as Die Hard 2) and is somewhat based on and inspired by Dirty Harry.

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", which McClane jokingly corrects him saying only "one step".

McClane is consistently portrayed as a reluctant hero who, with little or no assistance from others, is required against his wishes to thwart the elaborate plans of a group of like-minded villains because no one else is in a position to do so. The trailer for the first Die Hard film states, "The last thing McClane wants is to be a hero, but he doesn't have a choice." In the second film, he is told "You're the wrong guy in the wrong place at the wrong time", to which he replies, "The story of my life." In the fourth film, he says he gets involved in dangerous situations "because there is nobody else to do it" and if there was, he'd gladly let someone else do it.