The Cast: Main characters: #
Distinctive caste systems; humans separated into haves (positions of power) and have-nots (street people or “little people”) and then the replicants, also called “Andys” for Androids or “Skin jobs” They are fallen angels but a threat to society. We are manipulated to become more empathetic to the replicants than to the humans.
Bryant #
Police Chief (Blade Runner); abrasive, bullying, threatens Deckard by reminding him he’ll become one of the “little people” unless he accepts the assignment and does his dirty work.
Gaff #
Assistant to Bryant; Asian speaks an Asian language - leaves ambiguous origami calling cards, the last one is a unicorn.
Rick Deckard #
retired Blade Runner (Bounty Hunter)
“he’s a goddam one man slaughter house– His assignment is to eliminate the four replicants who have returned from the off world colonies and later also Rachael.
Replicant? Prototype of hardboiled foot slogging cynical Private Eye out to fight corruption turned on its head. His unheroic shooting of an unarmed Zhora in the back diminishes our respect.
Holden #
– V.K. tester – a Blade Runner who had a break down after testing Leon Kowalsky.
“Can’t breath without his tubes”
J.F. Sebastian #
genetic designer “makes” friends (toys).
Only 25 years old yet appears much older. Suffers from Methusalah¹ Syndrome – pre mature geriatric or as Pris says “accelerated decrepitude” Syndrome
¹In the Old Testament, Hebrew patriarch who lived before the Flood; his lifespan of 969 years makes him a byword for longevity.
Sebastion couldn’t pass the medical to go off world. Sebastian arranges a meeting between Roy and Tyrell through a chess match with Tyrell.
Chew #
Eye manufacturer technician, short Asian man appears to be hooked up to life support tubes.
Roy Batty #
leader of Replicants. Most admirable character in cast.
- he shows courage, empathy, morality, conscience, loyalty… absent in the humans.
Roy gets some of the most interesting lines and evokes the most empathy.
Rachael #
P.A. to Tyrell. She wants to know if she is a Replicant,
- Deckard is reluctant to tell her, mainly because he falls in love with her. She becomes his femme fatale – dark mysterious female, traditional, prim hair style, conservative clothing and coy mannerisms. Their bond blurs the lines between the real and the virtual, raising questions about the nature of love and intimacy, and the value of human-AI connection.
Pris #
- Replicant – almost perfectly made – for military leisure (pleasure), she exhibits more humanity than the humans; she has friends, while Sebastian has to “make” his.
Leon Kowlsky #
Replicant-reacts aggressively when asked about his mother. In love with Zhora and attempts to revenge her death by killing Deckard except that Rachael intervenes, saving Deckard’s life.
Tyrell #
Head of Tyrell Corporation. Lives alone high above the masses, Though secure, his life appears insular, sterile and devoid of humanity. With his bed raised on a pedestal, surrounded by white candles and wearing a white robe, he could represen the Pope or even God himself – the father, the maker.
Zhora #
referred to as “Beauty and the Beast” by Bryant. Stripper in Taffy Lewis’ sleazy bar – replicant – shot in the back trying to escape Deckard.