One of the most popular and prominent names in the 60s Hollywood included the American actor Clint Eastwood. He is one of the biggest actors and a respected director in the industry. Considering his reputation and popularity at the time, it seems understandable that the Die Hard creators wanted to cast him as the lead. However, he rejected the offer to star in the franchise that would give Bruce Willis one of the most successful roles of his career.
Clint Eastwood Was Initially Offered to Star in Die Hard
The 1988 film Die Hard follows detective John McClane who visits his wife in L.A. with plans to spend Christmas with her, only to find out that she, along with many others, has been kept hostage in an office building. Based on Roderick Thorp’s novel Nothing Lasts Forever featured Bruce Willis in the lead role.
It did pretty well at the box office and was also able to impress critics with its holiday spirit. The film’s success led the makers to release its sequel, and The Expendables actor went on to star in five films under the action franchise, which became one of the iconic roles of the actor.
While it seems impossible to imagine someone else as John McClane, Willis was not the makers’ first choice for the role. During the casting process of the 1988 film, the makers had a list of some of the top stars of the time, which also included The Mule actor Clint Eastwood.
However, one of the screenwriters of the 1988 film, Jeb Stuart, shared that Eastwood was among some shortlisted actors for the role, which also included actors like Sylvester Stallone and Harrison Ford. However, he turned down the offer claiming that he did not get the humor in the action movie.
Why Clint Eastwood Turned Down the Die Hard Offer?
Jeb Stuart shared during an interview that Clint Eastwood was one of the top actors on the list to play John McClane, so the makers approached him first. However, he rejected the offer, saying, “I don’t get the humor.” The screenwriter shared that he was shocked when he received the news as he considered the Unforgiven star perfect for the role.
“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.'”
It is also reported that John McClane was originally a retired detective in the novel but was rewritten as a younger character for the film. While Eastwood would have portrayed the character greatly, Bruce Willis took over the role, and the Die Hard franchise continues to be a fan-favorite to this day.
The Die Hard franchise is available on Prime Video.
Read More: Carrie-Anne Moss Cried After Watching How She Looked in ‘The Matrix’
Source: Slashfilm
