"It's Bruce's apical show ever, I think," Reginald VelJohnson told E! News of Bruce Willis' archetypal of 5 outings arsenic New York bull John McClane.

And helium lone got the accidental aft Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Richard Gere and Burt Reynolds said no—as did 70-year-old Frank Sinatra, who was offered the portion archetypal arsenic a contractual formality due to the fact that he'd starred successful different movie based connected a caller by Roderick Thorp, whose Nothing Lasts Forever became Die Hard.

The database of actors who passed connected the relation of McClane astir included Willis. He was still making Moonlighting in 1987 and didn't deliberation he'd beryllium capable to mess with that schedule.

"As it turns out, a occurrence happened," he recalled to Entertainment Weekly in 2007. "Cybill Shepherd got large and they unopen down the amusement for 11 weeks—just the close magnitude of clip for maine to tally astir implicit astatine Nakatomi Tower."

Acknowledging that helium was astatine slightest the 5th prime for the film, Willis quipped, "I deliberation I was the 50th choice! They went to everybody...All of those guys astir apt would person been large John McClanes. As it turns out, if you deliberation astir John McClane now, you can't ideate anybody doing it but me, right?"

And being a blockbuster newbie didn't forestall 20th Century Fox from paying Willis a then-eye-popping $5 million.

"It was thing much than the information that a movie I'd done, Blind Date, had a bully opening," helium said. "A bully opening play successful those days was $7 million. Now, if it doesn't marque $100 cardinal it's a failure."

Needless to say, the code of Die Hard would've been wildly antithetic without Willis—or with 1 of the different actors who astir played LAPD Sgt. Al Powell, who fatefully gets the telephone astir a imaginable disturbance astatine Nakatomi Plaza portion he's at an am/pm stocking up connected Twinkies for his large wife.

Director John McTiernan wanted Robert Duvall to play Powell, according to casting manager Jackie Burch, though McTiernan said helium was "hoping for Larry Fishburne." But successful immoderate case, Burch told Brian Abrams' for his 2016 e-book Die Hard: An Oral History that she went to bat for VelJohnson.

"'He's the nicest antheral you'll ever meet,'" she recalled saying astatine the time, "'and you request him conscionable the mode Bonnie Bedelia is an plus for Bruce'" arsenic McClane's woman Holly.

VelJohnson recalled Gene Hackman actually getting the occupation but past having a scheduling conflict, aft which "they decided to spell with an unknown," helium told E! "And I happened to beryllium the chartless they decided to spell with."

McClane and Powell famously don't conscionable face-to-face until the extremity of the movie aft spending astir of the time conversing done walkie-talkies. 

"I treated the walkie-talkie similar different actor," VelJohnson recalled. "I didn't recognize it was going to beryllium an integral portion of the movie until the movie came out. I had nary idea."

When McClane is successful the bath tending to his feet, Willis had VelJohnson travel work his lines successful person—and the histrion was admittedly terrified because, simply, it was his archetypal large movie and helium didn't privation to screw it up.

Willis wasn't called upon to read successful idiosyncratic for VelJohnson, but nary hard feelings. "I was successful awe of him," VelJohnson said. And they got to beryllium friends after filming wrapped, erstwhile some were connected coagulated ground.

Willis did extremity up pulling treble work on Moonlighting and Die Hard at first.

"So aft the archetypal week," screenwriter Steven E. de Souza told Slash Film successful 2018, "John McTiernan came to maine and said, 'We person astatine slightest different week of this overlap. Why don't you spell backmost into the publication and spot if you tin find much worldly for each the different characters to do?'

"That led to much scenes astatine the location with the housekeeper," helium explained, "it led to gathering up the idiot newscaster, and it led to immoderate of the large scenes betwixt Holly and Hans Gruber."

Moreover, de Souza continued, "Powell was ever successful there, but nether that direction, I ended up giving him much enactment with the cops connected the ground, and determination was immoderate drama that came retired of that."

The 11th-hour additions to the dialog necessitated a spot of improvisation from the actors and a lot of last-minute memorization. Willis credited his Moonlighting experience, portion VelJohnson attributed his signifier enactment for his quality to spell with the flow.

"For a young actor," helium told E!, "the signifier is the astir telling schoolroom that you could ever have...Theater gives you a definite subject that you don't get otherwise. It teaches you however to deliver."

The precocious Alan Rickman was a respected histrion successful his autochthonal Britain but a newcomer to Hollywood erstwhile helium was formed as Hans Gruber, the witty and ruthless large atrocious who spawned countless imitators.

In existent beingness Rickman was truthful lovely, VelJohnson recalled, "that it's hard to spot him arsenic a villain. He was truthful benignant to me, and I respect that helium became a prima due to the fact that of that movie. He was a large guy."

And a bully sport: When it came clip for Gruber's, er, downfall, they attached Rickman to a rig and practiced dropping him from antithetic heights, ever with a "3-2-1-go" countdown onto an aerial bag. 

But erstwhile it was clip to get the shot, they dropped him connected "1," truthful that's existent shock registering connected Gruber's face.

Rickman "was terrified," accumulation designer Jackson De Govia told Abrams. "Any of america would be. You saw a fearfulness of death, and I think, arsenic an actor, helium conscionable fto his emotions go."

R-rated unit aside, thing is much wince-inducing than what happens to McClane's feet, his bloodied soles a changeless reminder that helium is, successful fact, conscionable a specified mortal who got caught up successful a violent onslaught with his shoes off.

Of course, that was conscionable movie magic, and to lessen the anticipation of existent injury, Willis wore rubber feet erstwhile helium was moving done immoderate prop glass.

McClane's progressively soiled achromatic undershirt (and eventual ft bandage) was a purposeful wardrobe prime to separate him from the nattily dressed Gruber.

Die Hard costume decorator Marilyn Vance said she made 17 vessel tops for Willis and different 17 for stunt treble Keii Johnston, according to CNN. And, she told Dazed in 2012, she specially tailored Willis' pants to marque him much proportional "because helium has a agelong assemblage and abbreviated legs."

VelJohnson went connected to play a constabulary serviceman for nine seasons on Family Matters—and that was not a coincidence.

"[Series co-creator] Tom Miller saw Die Hard and they were looking for the hubby of Harriette," helium shared astir getting formed arsenic Carl Winslow opposite Jo Marie Payton connected the classical ABC sitcom. "They had maine travel successful and it was a cleanable moment." (Though the occurrence of Family Matters rendered him unavailable for much than a tiny relation successful 1990's Die Hard 2.)

Despite singing a fewer bars of "Let It Snow" successful the film, VelJohnson was not alert helium was starring successful a Christmas movie. Or at slightest successful a movie that would origin a monolithic statement implicit whether it's a Yuletide treasure oregon not.

"Everybody seems to deliberation that it's a Christmas movie," helium noted. "I conjecture they person the close to accidental so...Bruce would accidental no, helium doesn't deliberation it's a Christmas movie, I'm sure."

And, helium added, "Personally, I don't deliberation it is, but if radical spot that, past fto them spot it. Whatever made the movie a hit, I'm blessed for it."