Korben Dallas

Korben Dallas is the cigar-chomping, reluctant hero of The Fifth Element. Portrayed by Bruce Willis, he is a former decorated Special Forces Major who gets thrust into saving the universe from the "Great Evil" after a crash-landed alien (Leeloo) falls into his flying taxicab.Background & PersonalityThe "Meat Popsicle": A highly trained, former elite soldier for the Federated Army, famous for his cynical, "anybody else want to negotiate?" attitude.The Cab Driver: At the start of the film, he is working as an underpaid flying cabbie in 23rd-century New York, but gets fired by Zorg's corporation.No Villain Meeting: In a famous piece of movie trivia, Korben never actually meets or speaks with the main villain, Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg, during the entire film. The Perfect Match: Korben is an iconic symbol of traditional machismo forced to learn that the ultimate weapon isn't a ZF-1 gun, but rather love and vulnerability.Iconic Style: Designed by Jean Paul Gaultier, his signature wardrobe includes a futuristic orange harness over a striped tank top.The MissionThe Objective: Recruited back by the military, his task is to retrieve the four elemental stones to save Earth.The Fifth Element: He completes the sequence not by fighting, but by finally communicating his feelings and declaring his love to Leeloo to activate her powers. The Micro-Apartment: He lives in a tiny, automated New York flat where his bed retracts into the wall.The Auto-Cigarette: He tries to quit smoking using a machine that limits him to four cigarettes a day.The Lucky Match: He keeps one final, precious match that ultimately allows him to ignite the fire stone.The Ex-Wife: He receives a nagging phone call from his mother complaining about his ex-wife, fingers, and bad luck.