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Gaff was a police officer with the LAPD who escorted Blade Runner Rick Deckard during his assignment to retire a group of renegade replicants.
He had an affinity for creating origami figures.
Biography
2019
Gaff was sent by his superior, Captain Harry Bryant, to retrieve Deckard in order to give him the assignment. He presented his compulsory invitation to Deckard in Cityspeak, which Deckard pretended not to understand. Upon hearing that Bryant wished to see him, Deckard reluctantly joined Gaff on a flight in his spinner to the LAPD.[1]
Upon arrival at the LAPD, Deckard and Gaff take a seat in Bryant's office. Deckard learned of the escaped replicants and his job to retire them before word got out to the public that there were replicants on Earth. Gaff, meanwhile, constructed an origami chicken.[1]
After leaving the Tyrell Corporation and introducing Deckard to Rachael, Gaff and Deckard went to the replicant Leon Kowalski's apartment at 117 Hunterwasser to investigate his whereabouts. While Deckard explored the bathroom, finding several scales (belonging to Zhora), Gaff created more origami. This time, he made a man with an erection.[1]
While Deckard traveled to the Bradbury Apartments, Gaff went to Deckard's apartment where Rachael – who was ordered to be retired – slept. Before leaving, Gaff left behind an origami unicorn.[1]
He met Deckard shortly after his final fight with the replicant leader Roy Batty, complimenting him on a job well-done. He mockingly noted, referring to Rachael, "It's too bad she won't live, but then again, who does?"[1]
Later, while Deckard retrieved Rachael from his apartment and they made their escape, he noticed one of Gaff's origami unicorn. After recalling Gaff's enigmatic final words, Deckard left.[1]
Gaff later died while on an assignment. Bryant attended his funeral and displayed some distaste towards the epitaph written in Cityspeak on Gaff's grave.[2]
Behind the scenes
Katherine Haber suggested Edward James Olmos for the role. Olmos wore blue contact lenses for the role and along with Gaff's multi-ethnic background, Olmos mostly created the cityspeak on his own, using a variety of his own extensive language experience. For preparation, he visited the Berlitz School of Languages in Los Angeles, where he learned phrases in Hungarian, German, and French.[3]
Origami
During the events of the film, Gaff leaves several origami figures representing different animals. Each has its own meaning, and there are many interpretations:
| Origami | Location/Event | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken | Gaff leaves a chicken on Captain Bryant's desk right as Deckard is about to refuse Bryant's demand that he return as a Blade Runner. | Calling into question Deckard's courage, implying he is running away from his fears instead of facing them. |
| Man | While investigating Leon's apartment, Gaff leaves a man with an erect penis on the dresser after Deckard finds the scale in the bathtub. | Deckard's impending romance with Rachael, what his mind is focused on. |
| Unicorn | Before Deckard and Rachael flee LA, Deckard picks up an origami unicorn that Rachael nearly steps on in the hallway. | The unreliability of memory; Gaff's knowledge of Deckard's true identity. |