Rick Deckard
The film's titular Blade Runner, played by Harrison Ford. At the beginning of the film, Deckard is disillusioned, and retired from hunting replicants. His old inspector, Bryant, drags him back into the fold to apprehend six Nexus 6 Replicants who have staged a mutiny and escaped to Earth. Over the course of the film, Deckard falls in love with Rachael, a sophisticated model of Replicant - leading to the final revelation that Deckard may be a replicant himself.
Roy Batty
The leader of the Nexus 6 Replicants, played by Rutger Hauer. His goal is to find Tyrell, his creator, to get reprogrammed for a longer life. Batty kills Tyrell when he finds out that this won't be possible. Roy Batty eventually saves Deckard's life before expiring in the film's final battle scene.
Rachael
A beautiful young replicant who works in Tyrell's office, played by Sean Young. She does not know she is a replicant until Deckard tells her. The 1982 Blade Runner Press Kit described Rachael as "a cool executive, in complete control. Deckard penetrates her smooth-running facade and she becomes an innocent little girl." At the end of the film, Deckard and Rachael run away together.
Gaff
Another Blade Runner who works with Bryant, played by Edward James Olmos. He is highly intelligent and speaks many languages. At the end of the film, he lets Rachael, a Replicant, live and also gives Deckard the most definitive clue that he might be a Replicant himself.
Bryant
The Police Inspector played by M. Emmet Walsh. In an interview, Walsh said, "Ridley told me that Bryant's stomach was all shot to hell... he liked to see other people drink because he couldn't" (Sammon 119). He is hard-edged and cynical, referring to replicants as "skinjobs".
Pris
One of the Nexus 6 Replicants - a "pleasure model" designed for soldiers, played by Daryl Hannah. She is doll-like and naive. Daryl Hannah had the idea that Pris could do gymnastics, because Hannah herself was very skilled. According to Hannah, "Pris was eternally grateful to Roy [Batty] because she'd been designed as a pleasure unit and he'd saved her from a life of prostitution" (Sammon 169). Eventually, Deckard shoots and kills Pris.
J.F. Sebastian
A genetically abnormal genetic designer played by William Sanderson. He is sweet and genuine and takes Pris in off the street. Sebastian spends his free time producing "astonishingly realistic toys as playthings for the upper strata of 2019's rigidly defined society, and as mechanical companions to offset his own loneliness" (Sammon 141). Roy Batty eventually kills Sebastian and his employer, Tyrell.
Leon Kowalski
A male Nexus 6 replicant played by Brion James. He specializes in combat and loading weapons. He shoots Holden during his Voigt-Kampff Test. Rachael eventually kills Kowalski while trying to protect Deckard.
Dr. Eldon Tyrell
The founder of the Tyrell Corp, played by Joe Turkel. Tyrell wants to make replicants "more human than human" and is responsible for creating all the Nexus 6 Replicants as well as Rachael. He dies at the hands of one of his creations (Roy Batty).
Zhora
One of the Nexus 6 Replicants, played by Joanna Cassidy. She performs as "Miss Salome", dancing with a snake at Taffey Lewis' club, The Snake Pit. Deckard figures out Miss Salome's real identity - she is the first Replicant he takes down.
Hannibal Chew
A genetic designer who specializes in eyes, played by James Hong. Hong said he played Chew as "a brilliant scientist who was on the edge of senility" (Sammon 133). Chew is obsessed with his work and thinks of his eyeballs as his children.
Holden
Another Blade Runner, played by Morgan Paull. He performs a Voigt-Kampff test on Leon Kowalski, who shoots him midway through (he survives).
Taffey Lewis
The sleazy owner of The Snake Pit Club, played by Hy Pyke.
Abdul Ben-Hassan
The manufacturer of the replicant snake owned by Zhora, played by Ben Astar.
Harrison Ford
The actor who brought Rick Deckard to life had worked with many notable directors before coming to Ridley Scott's Los Angeles set. In the years leading up to Blade Runner, he played Bob Falfa in George Lucas' American Graffiti (1973), followed by his star-making role as Han Solo in Lucas' Star Wars trilogy, and then the title character in Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (produced by Lucas). He is one of the most celebrated action stars of all time, and his films have earned over $6 billion at the international box office.
Hampton Fancher
The original screenwriter and Executive Producer of Blade Runner.
Syd Mead
A commercial and industrial designer (and major science fiction fan) who Ridley Scott chose as Blade Runner's 'visual futurist', meaning he would collaborate with Scott to bring the world of Blade Runner to life.
Michael Deeley
The British film producer who guided the creation of Blade Runner. His other credits include The Italian Job and Deer Hunter.
