Arnold Schwarzenegger has been an integral part of several top franchisees and has given extraordinary performances in memorable roles that have propelled his Hollywood career to superstardom heights.
The actor has made excellent choices in terms of selecting scripts and movies. However, he did make a few mistakes in his decades-long career. One of the most egregious ones was that he turned down the Die Hard franchise, which later became a billion-dollar success story.
The Die Hard franchise became ridiculously successful and made Bruce Willis a superstar who played the lead character in the film series. In retrospect, Schwarzenegger should have signed up for the Die Hard line of films, which would have given him another billion-dollar franchise. Having said all this, selecting scripts is a tricky business, and often the biggest of stars make the same mistakes.
Arnold Schwarzenegger Made a Huge Mistake by Turning Down the Die Hard Franchise
Arnold Schwarzenegger is a Hollywood titan. The legendary actor has starred in numerous action-packed, pulse-pounding, thrilling projects that have helped him cement his top-shelf spot in the entertainment industry. Schwarzenegger endured many obstacles and hardships at the beginning of his career.
The actor first ventured into bodybuilding, made a name in the field, won multiple titles and awards, and then came to America to become a superstar. He has lived his dreams. The Austria-native star has given many compelling and memorable performances on the silver screen by showcasing his unique cinematic skills. However, like any actor, he has also turned down multiple films and roles in his decades-long career.
According to reports, The Terminator movie star initially offered the part of the New York City police detective Jon McClane in the now Bruce Willis-led lucrative Die Hard franchise that launched his career to global stardom. The opportunity to star in the 1988 American action film Die Hard could have been a big game changer for the Total Recall movie star’s career, who was the then superstar in showbiz.
Throughout the 80s and 90s, his movies earned bucketloads of cash, and he was working with some of the finest directors in showbiz on their big banner projects. In an interview, the 75-year-old star recalled his ordeal and shared that he regretted turning down the once-in-a-lifetime offer to another biggest superstar Willis.
Arnold Schwarzenegger Nearly Played Jon McClane in Die Hard Franchise
The Predator movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger initially offered to portray Jon McClane in the original 1988 film Die Hard. Nevertheless, he once revealed that he turned down the part, and the legendary actor Bruce Willis got the role, which he successfully helmed in the first movie and reprised his role for the follow-up sequels that went on to earn millions of dollars at the box office. The True Lies movie star told Empire Online that someone gave him the then-unfinished script of the project,
“There was an unfinished script, which someone gave me and said, ‘Would you want to play this?’ I was working with Joel Silver on Predator and Die Hard was his next movie. So we talked about it but then he hired Bruce Willis.”
John McTiernan-directed action-packed, star-studded Die Hard film received an overwhelming response from the audience and critics alike, and it grossed over $140 million at the global box office. The film skyrocketed Bruce Willis’ career to stardom, and he has since starred in many blockbuster hits and established himself as the leading action movie star of American cinema. The Die Hard film series has amassed a combined $1.4 billion worldwide, making it one of the highest-grossing franchises.
Die Hard is available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Source: Empire Online
