Hans

Hans wearing sunglasses.

"Hans' entire life has revolved around trolls. Every day has been a struggle with and for trolls. In many ways, he is a superhero here in Norway. What would we have done without him? That makes it all the more important for us that we make this movie." - Thomas Schøien telling Malika Malay-Olsen how he, Johanna Pedersen, and Kalle Stensvik feel about Hans and their journey.

Hans, also known as the Troll Hunter, is the main protagonist and the titular character of the film Troll Hunter. He is the only troll hunter in Norway. He was formerly in the Royal Norwegian Navy as a Ranger. After this, he was recruited by the Troll Security Service and has been affiliated with the service since at least the 1970s or before. He acts under the orders of the organization's director, Finn Haugen, though the two clash with each other very often. Before or during 2008, he allowed three students from Volda University College to accompany him throughout his journey as long as they would obey his every direction. He was last seen killing a Jotnar troll with a grenade launcher consisting of a very large amount of ultraviolet light and radiation. He walked away from the students, never to be seen again.

Biography

Early Life and Career

Much of Hans' life before his career as a Navy Ranger is unknown. At some point, he enlisted in the Royal Norwegian Navy as a Ranger. Some time after this, the TSS were looking for someone could do their dirty work, coming across and hiring Hans. At some point, he met and befriended Hilde. 

Throughout the film

Being Investigated by the Students

"That guy in the Land Rover is no bear hunter. If he's gunning for our bear, he's breaking the law." - The lead bear-hunter telling the students about Hans.

The bear-hunters.

In the very beginning of the film, Volda University College students Thomas Schøin, Johanna Pedersen, and Kalle Stensvik take off in their car to investigate bear tracks that were recently found in Volda, according to a radio report. A hunting party had arrived their earlier. Kalle interviews the primary bear hunter in Norway. He states that he knows every single licensed bear hunter in Norway, and that the guy in the land rover cannot possibly be a bear hunter. He then states that he and his crew see him all over.

The young bear-hunter telling how he feels about Hans.

A young hunter says that if he sees him again, there will be consequences and then states that he believes he is nothing but a poacher. They ask another hunter what he would like to tell Hans, which he responds, "to lay his cards on the table." After leaving, the students see Hans' Land Rover in traffic and start to pursue him only to lose him later on. Thomas gives a speech saying that they know the troll hunter's name is Hans, but are unable to find his lat name. He then asks the camera, "but what is he doing in Volda? Who is he?"

At the Campgrounds

After urinating off the side of a cliff, Thomas is yelled at by Johanna that Hans is staying at a campground. A man in a red jacket says that he doesn't know him, but that he is at the campground and then proceeds to show the students where he is staying. The man and the students note the foul smell of his RV. He says that Hans often drives off and stays out all night but that he's never back before sunrise. After staying up at night for a while, the students see Hans' vehicle pull up and plan to interview him directly. Thomas wants to know if they can ask him a few questions to which Hans ignores at first and says, "get lost." He then slams a door before Thomas. Johanna plants a sound-recording device onto his RV. They listen and hear him talking to someone about finding "it" tonight and then drives off with students on his tail. The students use a nightvision device to look inside his RV.

Another Cover-Up

Hans killed another troll sometime after leaving. The students hear about it and drive to the scene where it was killed only to see another bear corpse surrounded by bear hunters and Finn Haugen of the Wildlife Board. The eldest hunter says that, "the bear population is managed by the state, so a downed bear like this one causes quite a fuss." He thinks that someone brought a bear to this place because the tracks don't match up to that of a normal bear. 

Equipment

• Cigarette Packs: Hans is a smoker and thus carries packs of cigarettes. 
• Flashlight: Hans holds a flashlight many times to help him navigate in the dark.
• • Hans looking forward with his land rover in the back.
  • The upgraded version, featuring metallic spikes.

  1/2
  Land Rover & RV: Hans' land rover is his main vehicle and primary way of transportation. Before the taking on the Jotnar troll, he upgraded the rover by adding a metallic spikes all over the rover. Inside, it contains a radio and some seats. On top, there is a large light beam which he can shoot out. Connected to the rover is an RV which inside features a small kitchen, newspaper, a table, bear skin, ingredients for troll stench, and UV light bulbs.

• 

  Hans wearing sunglasses.

  Sunglasses: He wears sunglasses often in order to protect his eyes from the UV light in his RV and his other weapons.

• Sunscreen: Hans uses sunscreen to protect his skin from cancer that can be caused by the UV light bulbs in his RV.

Trivia/Notes

• Hans was portrayed by actor and comedian Otto Jespersen. 

• His last name is unknown, as the students never discovered it, according to Thomas. 

• It is unknown how he obtained blood of Christians while luring the troll onto the bridge. However, it is possible that there were Christian employees in the Troll Security Service that donated their blood to help Hans. 

• 

  Hans incorrectly signed the date of his troll kill as 9/10/09.

  A timeline error is present on Hans’s TSS report form, where it shows he signed the date of the kill as happening on October 9th, 2009 as the date, instead of being 2008 or before. In-universe, it could be explained that Hans simply made a mistake.
• It is possible that he and Hilde are in love with each other, as they give each other a big hug before he leaves her, in which Thomas and Kalle humorously take note.