Why Clint Eastwood Turned Down Starring Role In Die Hard

The screenwriter of Die Hard reveals why legendary actor Clint Eastwood turned down the lead role of John McClane in the iconic action film. Directed by acclaimed American filmmaker John McTiernan (Predator, Last Action Hero) and based on the 1979 novel Nothing Lasts Forever by Roderick Thorp, the story of the 1988 action film revolves around New York City police detective, John McClane, as he finds himself caught up in a terrorist takeover of a Los Angeles skyscraper while visiting his estranged wife for Christmas.

The film saw Bruce Willis take on the role of McClane, and he was joined by a supporting cast that included Reginald VelJohnson, Bonnie Bedelia, Alexander Godunov, and the late Harry Potter actor, Alan Rickman, who played the antagonist and head of the terrorist group, Hans Gruber. Die Hard is often regarded as one of the greatest and most influential action movies ever made and has also been named one of the best Christmas films by many. The film’s success has spawned four further sequels in the form of 1990’s Die Hard 2, 1995’s Die Hard with a Vengeance, 2007’s Live Free or Die Hard, and 2013’s A Good Day To Die Hard. While Die Hard saw Willis catapulted to movie star and action hero status, there were myriad other actors who were offered the part of McClane but turned it down, one of which was Eastwood.

Now, in a recent interview with SlashFilm, Die Hard screenwriter Jeb Stuart revealed the reason why Eastwood turned down the role of McClane. Stuart stated that while the actor was the first choice for the part, he decided to pass on the offer as he “didn’t get the humor.” This came as “a shock” to the writer, as Eastwood was his “inspiration” in the first place and in his mind, “one of the few people” who could’ve made the snappy dialogues from the script come to life. Check out his quote below:

“They went to Clint Eastwood first. 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.’ All that kind of stuff. You could see him doing that. He was my inspiration.”

It’s no secret that Eastwood proved to be just the first of several A-list stars to reject the role, with the list of actors including the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Robert De Niro, Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford, and Richard Gere, to mention a few. The fact that the Oscar-winning actor/director was immediately considered for the part is understandable given his established status as a leading man at the time, which came as a result of his scene-stealing performances in Sergio Leone’s Dollars trilogy and the Dirty Harry series, both of which featured iconic dialogues that are quoted to this day.

The possibility of an Eastwood-led Die Hard franchise may have sounded like an intriguing prospect back then, but it’s highly likely that an opportunity to add another major franchise to an already impressive filmography would have been a bridge too far for the veteran actor in the late ’80s, given the physically demanding aspects of the character. However, that’s not to say that he couldn’t have pulled it off. The fact that Stuart wrote the part with Eastwood in mind is a testament to the Unforgiven and Million Dollar Baby actor’s longevity and undeniable charisma. While the Hollywood icon wouldn’t have been the worst casting choice for McClane, it’s safe to say that Die Hard fans were ultimately satisfied with the decision to give Willis a chance to play what has now become his career-defining role.