Die Hard: Actors Who Almost Played John McClane

As we already know, Bruce Willis turned out to be perfect for the role of John McClane in Die Hard. However, it’s noteworthy that he wasn’t exactly the first choice. Even though it’s hard to imagine the blockbuster without him having the lead role, there were plenty of other talented actors approached for it.

The role was pretty unconventional and finding the ideal actor wasn’t a child play. Let’s take a look at the list of actors who almost played John McClane.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

When the producers approached Arnold Schwarzenegger for the role of John McClane, he turned the offer down. Earlier, McClane was originally an unstoppable action-oriented supercop, and who is better for the act than Arnold himself? Later, they wrote McClane with some flaws and rewrote his character to exhibit the average guy persona.

Robert De Niro

When Die Hard was released in 1988, we saw De Nero starring in Midnight Run, another great masterpiece. While on the searching spree for the perfect John McClane, the producers considered Robert De Niro for the part.

Harrison Ford

Known for rocking the world of cinema as our beloved Indiana Jones protagonist, Harrison Ford almost portrayed John McClane. Imagine Indie as the sweat-drenched cop rummaging through air vents. The Han Solo, Rick Deckard, Indiana Jones, and Jack Ryan star was a top consideration for Die Hard.

Kurt Russell

Kurt Russell was definitely an amazing combination of comic relief and ice-cold badassery. We know for a fact that Bruce Willis was perfect for the role. But fans can’t help wondering how Russell would have done with this part as well.

Al Pacino

The image of a Stern cop comes to mind when we hear the name Al Pacino. Considering he has already played the role of a flawed yet strong man making it through under the most intense pressure, it was obvious for the producers to approach him for the role of John McClane.

Sylvester Stallone

The action genre couldn’t have been complete in the 80s without Sylvester Stallone in the lead role. But considering how he was already juggling Rambo and Rocky franchises in the eighties, he couldn’t hog the Die Hard franchise as well.

Frank Sinatra

Nothing Lasts Forever was the novel that inspired diehard. Its prequel was The Detective which produces adapted into a film starring Frank Sinatra. It made sense to offer him the lead role in the sequel. Once he rejected the role of John McClane, the writers and the producers separated Die Hard from the detective.

Even though all the actors on this list are as talented as one could get, it’s hard to imagine anyone other than Bruce Willis for the role of our favorite John McClane in Die Hard. It was clearly an iconic role and the producers did well by going with Bruce Willis to portray the realistic cop image. Just out of curiosity, who do you think would have been second best for the role of John McClane? Let us know in the comments below.