“It definitely was not in the script”: Bruce Willis’ Die Hard Co-star Completely Improvised One Thrilling Scene in the Film That is Still Comedy Gold
- Stuntman-actor-author Al Leong went a little off-script for his character Uli in Die Hard.
- Bruce Willis was not the first choice for Die Hard.
- Die Hard's success made Willis a household name.
Directed by John McTiernan, the 1988 action movie Die Hard, starring Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Paul Gleason, Al Leong, and more, is based on the novel Nothing Lasts Forever by Roderick Thorp. It was published in 1979 and follows a police detective who is caught up in a terrorist takeover of a Los Angeles skyscraper when he was visiting his estranged wife.
Die Hard made Bruce Willis among the highest-paid actors in the industry, and despite the relatively low expectations for the movie, it received mixed reviews upon release. But with time, the movie became the tenth-highest-grossing movie of 1988 and earned four Academy Award nominations. Actor Al Leong shares his experience working on Die Hard and reveals a thrilling scene that was off-script.
Bruce Willis’ co-star Al Leong talks about going off-script for a scene in Die Hard
Actor Bruce Willis played a New York City police detective, John McClane, in John McTiernan’s Die Hard, alongside Alan Rickman, who portrays Hans Gruber, the leader of the terrorist group. The movie’s success made the two stars a household name and helped Die Hard become one of the greatest action movies of all time.
Actor-stuntman-author Al Leong appeared as the candy-bar-stealing terrorist Uli in the movie. In a particular scene where the actor’s character is defending the Nakatomi Plaza from the cops, he is standing next to a candy stall, and after looking furtively, he steals the candy bar and eats it.
This scene is one of the most memorable because the way Al Leong’s character steals the candy bar is hilarious and serves as comic relief in an action movie. Talking about his character’s act of stealing candy, the now-retired actor shared,
From what I remember, I asked McTiernan if it was okay to take the candy. It definitely was not in the script, but it was a well-written story.
The actor further shared about his experience working with Willis and said that he was great, adding that he is one of the guys who walks in and can memorize everybody’s name. According to Allen Tsai’s video, writer Steven de Souza had shared that he had been ‘killing characters’ off every 8 to 10 pages but Al Leong’s act of stealing the candy in the scene where he is defending the Nakatomi Plaza from the cops, made that moment and his character interesting.
Al-Leong’s Uli was one of the last terrorists to die.
Bruce Willis was not the first choice for John McClane
According to reports by Game Pressure, actor Richard Gere was the first choice to play the character of John McClane. However, the actor who appeared opposite Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, declined the offer as he was not interested in the project. In a book by Eila Mell, Casting Might-Have-Beens, she revealed,
Richard Gere turned it [the role] down, saying he had no interest in the project. Producer Joel Silver wanted Gere so much that he added another million dollars to the actor’s proposed salary to get him to sign on.
It was also reported that actor Clint Eastwood was also considered for the part. In an interview with Slash Film, screenwriter Jeb Stuart shared the reason for Eastwood’s rejection to play John McClane. He said,
They went to Clint Eastwood first. Ironically, his response to the producers was, ‘I don’t get the humor’. This 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.
Mental Floss notes actors including Sylvester Stallone, Harrison Ford, Robert De Niro, Charles Bronson, Mel Gibson, Don Johnson, and more were offered the part but they had respectfully declined. The part finally was offered to Bruce Willis, who at the time had done Moonlighting. The studios were not sure about his casting as the action guy because he didn’t come off as someone who’d be interested in action movies. The screenwriter mentioned that they just needed to convince the audience that Willis was an action hero.
He lastly added that Bruce Willis was brilliant, and following the success of the movie, he not only became a household name but the action genre became his favorite genre.
Die Hard can be streamed on VOD on Apple TV+ and Prime Video.
