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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’sDie 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 Hardalso 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 theDie Hardteam’s original plans.
Also read:“I would have been willing to pay them”: 4 Time Oscar Winner Clint Eastwood Readily Agreed for Minimum Wage to Save Dying Movie That Made $10M as His Directorial Debut
Clint Eastwood Refused to Take the Iconic Gig inDie 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, theUnforgivenStar did pass on the lead role in 1988’sDie Harddue to a bizarre reason.Die Hardscreenwriter, 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,”
As a result, the producers would eventually move on to other actors to lead the adaptation, and surprisingly,Bruce Williswas one of the last options on their wish list.
Also read:“Give me 24 hours”: Clint Eastwood Earned Meryl Streep Her 10th Oscar Nomination by Swooping in to Direct $182M Movie That Was Nearly Scrapped Off
The Novel Imagined John McClane as a Much Older Character
Contrary to the movie, Roderick Thorp’sNothing 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.
Also read:“You lucky, lucky spoilt brat”: Scott Eastwood Revealed His Inner Clint Eastwood After Getting Punched by Own Father for a Terrible Mistake
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 Hardis available to stream on Disney Plus.
Source:Slash Film
Santanu Roy
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2540
Santanu Roy is a Senior Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, majorly focusing on movies, with over 2,000 articles under his belt. He has been pursuing a degree in Animation and possesses a deep love for the medium of animation. Having spent the better part of the last two years pumping out articles for FW, Santanu excels at covering movie analysis and news surrounding Pixar, DCU, DreamWorks, and Batman’s cinematic legacy.With psychological thrillers and intimate slice-of-life dramas ranking among his favorite genres, Santanu is a big admirer of Luca Guadagnino, Shane Black, Park Chan-wook, and Brad Bird.
