Alan Rickman Almost Turned Down Die Hard But One Thing About The Script Changed His Mind
Much has been made of "Die Hard" and its enduring charm as not just a quintessential '80s blockbuster but one of the finest action movies ever made. There's a lot to love about the 1988 mega-hit that propelled Bruce Willis from TV comedy to action movie fame. Just as memorable as Willis' lovable everyman cop is Alan Rickman's Hans Gruber, the film's antagonist (or protagonist if you ask the film's writer) and mastermind of the siege on Nakatomi Tower.
Rickman began his career in the theater, having studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and making a real name for himself on the theater circuit. When it came time to make the leap to movies, he was initially hesitant to accept his now legendary "Die Hard" role. Once the actor eventually came onboard, he approached the job with the same dedication he had applied to his theater career, reportedly influencing the film's script by pushing the producers to allow Gruber to wear a suit rather than the heavy terrorist gear that was originally planned. But in order to actually accept the role in the first place, Rickman needed some convincing.
Not your average action movie
Having finished the New York run of "Les Liaisons Dangereuses" in 1987, a 41-year-old Rickman went to LA to take meetings for what would become his first movie. After just two days spent speaking to producers, he was offered the role of Gruber in "Die Hard," though he said he was initially unimpressed:
"I read it and I said 'what the hell is this, I'm not doing an action movie.' And agents and people said 'Alan, you don't understand this doesn't happen, you've only been in LA two days and you've been asked to do this film.'"
But it seems it wasn't just the encouragement of his management that pushed Rickman to accept the role of Gruber. As The Hollywood Reporter notes, the actor was impressed by "Die Hard's" script, which he said was actually surprisingly progressive for the time:
"Not to get a sledgehammer out to it, but every single black character in that film is positive and highly intelligent. So, 28 years ago, that's actually quite revolutionary and quietly so."
While he could have easily been distracted by the more bombastic elements of the script, the ever-insightful Rickman had clearly picked up on something that often goes unmentioned in relation to "Die Hard." From Sgt. Powell (Reginald VelJohnson) who's John McClane's only real ally on the ground outside Nakatomi Tower, to limo driver Argyle (De'voreaux White), the characters of color in the film are shown to be competent and clever throughout. There's also FBI Special Agent Johnson (Grand L. Bush) who despite not always being on McClane's side projects an air of authority and importance. Even Theo (Clarence Darnell Gilyard Jr.), the terrorist hacker who breaks into Nakatomi's vault, is depicted as highly intelligent and a crucial member of the team.
Boundary-breaking blockbusters
Though he's known best for his big-budget work in the "Harry Potter" franchise and indeed, even to this day, "Die Hard," Rickman has always had a quiet appreciation for projects that challenge societal norms. The second film he directed, 2014's "A Little Chaos," was based on a story idea from Alison Deegan and evidently attracted Rickman with its focus on historically sidelined figures. As Rickman put it:
"I loved the fact that ... the central character is a woman that couldn't possibly have existed: a woman landscape gardener, or a woman with a job at all. So it's a male dominated world with a lot of women who are merely decorative objects. Weirdly that has modern parallels, still, so I liked that about it."
Challenging the status quo was obviously important to Rickman, who maintained an appreciation for "Die Hard" and its unusually progressive script right up until his death in 2016. Reflecting on the movie in 2015, told Empire that "time has borne out, that [the "Die Hard"] script wasn't stupid. Stupider films have been made trying to be it since. It's genuinely witty and every black character is strong in it." Indeed, "Die Hard" has had the kind of enduring popularity that most movies, action or otherwise, aspire to enjoy. Who knows if that would be the case had Rickman followed his initial instincts and turned the role down. As it stands, it's nice to think we got one of the most memorable action movie performances due to the unlikely nuance of a blockbuster script.