Die Hard is good all year round, but it feels especially right to watch it at this time of year (it is a Christmas movie, don't @ us).
The action classic made a movie star of Bruce Willis and introduced the world to one of cinema's greatest characters John McClane who, despite some dodgy later sequels, remains an iconic action hero.
But it could have all been so different as you might not be aware that the producers originally had to offer the role to Frank Sinatra, who was then 70 years old.
Sinatra turned down the role of John McClane of course, and in reality he was never going to star in Die Hard, but the producers were contractually obliged to offer Ol' Blue Eyes the role after he had starred in Die Hard's 'prequel', The Detective.
Let's rewind a bit. In case you weren't already aware, Die Hard is based on Roderick Thorp's novel Nothing Lasts Forever, which sees retired detective Joe Leland take on some terrorists in the headquarters of the Klaxon Oil Corporation on Christmas Eve.
The movie version obviously made some changes (including removing the bleak ending where Leland's daughter falls to her death), but the structure remains the same and there are nods to the original novel, such as Holly's maiden name Gennaro.
Graymalkin Media Nothing Lasts Forever (Basis for the Film Die Hard)
Graymalkin Media Nothing Lasts Forever (Basis for the Film Die Hard)
Nothing Lasts Forever was the sequel to Thorp's 1966 novel The Detective which was also adapted as a movie of the same name. The movie saw Sinatra play Joe Leland as the detective investigating a supposed suicide.
The Detective was one of the biggest box-office hits of Sinatra's movie career and became one of the highest-grossing movies of 1968.
While Die Hard wasn't a direct sequel to The Detective and the character name differed, the role of John McClane had to be offered to Sinatra anyway because it was a (loose) adaptation of The Detective's sequel novel.
Sinatra declined the role, but it's not like the producers then went straight to Bruce Willis. At the time, he was largely known for his role on TV comedy Moonlighting and not as a movie star.
The role of John McClane was offered to a variety of names, including Arnold Schwarzenegger (who turned it down because he wanted to get into comedy), Sylvester Stallone, Clint Eastwood, Mel Gibson, James Caan, Richard Gere and more.
When it did get offered to Willis, even he turned it down first time around because of his obligation to Moonlighting. However, his co-star Cybill Shepherd became pregnant and the show took a break from filming, freeing up Willis for the Die Hard role.
And the rest, as they say, is history. Ho ho ho.
Die Hard is available to watch now on Disney+.
Best Entertainment and Tech Deals
Coronation Street X Joanie - Gilroy Retro Newton And Ridley Sweatshirt
Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
