The ’80s and the early ’90s witnessed some of the most beloved action stars taking center stage in Hollywood, with actors like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone becoming household names. This period also witnessed the meteoric rise of Bruce Willis after 1988’s Die Hard, but surprisingly the creators initially approached Clint Eastwood to play the iconic role.
Like any other quintessential action film released in the 80s, Die Hard also didn’t fail to garner huge success on its release, making Willis a huge movie star. But things would’ve been extremely different if things had gone according to the Die Hard team’s original plans.
Clint Eastwood Refused to Take the Iconic Gig in Die Hard
Clint Eastwood‘s accomplishments in showbiz are a sight to behold. From playing one of the most badass protagonists of all time to earning Academy recognition for his skills behind the camera, the Hollywood icon’s career couldn’t have gone more perfect. However, the Unforgiven Star did pass on the lead role in 1988’s Die Hard due to a bizarre reason. Die Hard screenwriter, Jeb Stuart revealed that the producers initially approached Clint Eastwood to take the gig of John McClane, as the character completely reflected Eastwood’s demeanor.
But to their shock, the Man with No Name wasn’t too fond of the movie’s humor, even though Stuart believed the dialogues in the action flick was something fans would expect to hear from Eastwood.
“They went to Clint Eastwood first,” Stuart explains. “Ironically, his response to the producers was, ‘I don’t get the humor.’ Which, for me, was a shock because if you listen to a lot of those words, Eastwood’s one of the few people who could have delivered a line like ‘Come to LA, have a great time.’ All that kind of stuff,”
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As a result, the producers would eventually move on to other actors to lead the adaptation, and surprisingly, Bruce Willis was one of the last options on their wish list.
The Novel Imagined John McClane as a Much Older Character
Contrary to the movie, Roderick Thorp’s Nothing Lasts Forever, witnesses an older John McClane, who is a retired detective. It makes sense why Clint Eastwood was their original choice for the role, as he perfectly fits the character that Thorp wrote, and unlike the movie, which sees McClane coming to his wife, the novel witnessed him visiting his daughter.
While it’d have been fascinating to witness Clint Eastwood’s version of the character, losing the gig didn’t impact his illustrious Hollywood legacy, but the role did skyrocket Bruce Willis to stardom.
Die Hard is available to stream on Disney Plus.