Alan Rickman has given remarkable performances in the acting industry which kept on captivating everyone’s hearts even now. The late actor got himself enlisted among Hollywood’s most iconic villains all thanks to his role in Die Hard alongside Bruce Willis. The role not only brought him to stardom but proved to be quite an asset especially when the film spawned a whole franchise.
While his cunning sinister role of Hans Gruber has quite a story, as he was not willing to accept the role initially, he opened up about how he almost lost his role.
Alan Rickman Faced Quite a Hurdle in His First Shot for Die Hard
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In a 2015 interview with Empire, late star, Alan Rickman opened up about his thoughts on having a big-screen debut with an action flick, Die Hard starring Bruce Willis. He opened up about encountering a little issue while he was filming the first shot of the film.
“I thought I had ripped a ligament on the very first shot. Turned out I’d torn a cartilage.”
He went to see a doctor downstairs who warned him to halt the action if his injury was any serious.
“I knew enough to go downstairs and see the doctor. I said, ‘I think I heard something crack in my knee. I was jumping down from a small ledge. He said, ‘You may have torn a ligament. If you have, you’re out of action for six months.'”
It was quite big news for him especially when he hadn’t filmed anything.
“I hadn’t even shot a scene! I was still in my costume, and I said, ‘Could you pull the trouser leg down over that splint thing?’ I went back up to the 33rd floor and carried on shooting. But the doctor said, ‘Don’t put any weight on that leg!'”
The scene in question involved his meeting with the protagonist.
“[The one] where Bruce Willis and I meet and I’m producing an American accent. Then I produce a gun. I’m playing that scene standing on one leg! (Laughs)”
Despite the injury, he performed his scene. He gave an outstanding performance which cemented his place in the industry. While we can’t imagine anyone for his iconic portrayal, he initially was uninterested in playing the character.
Alan Rickman Was Hesitant on Working in Bruce Willis’s Die Hard
“What the hell is this? I’m not doing an action movie!”
However, he eventually gave it the green light after getting to know the significant script details that won his heart. Despite it being his debut film, the film became one of the greatest action films. It also spawned a franchise among other merch.
Die Hard is available on Starz in the United States.
Source: Empire
