Bruce Willis Declined ‘Die Hard 2’ Because It Wasn’t a ‘Serious Movie’

No matter how many years pass, and now that he’s never seen again on the big screen, Bruce Willis will always be remembered as the star of ‘Die Hard,’ an action franchise that became a cinematic classic. However, the story could have been very different for the actor, since he did not want to participate in the sequel to the film, because he did not consider comedy as something “serious”.

In a recent interview for Empire, Renny Harlin, director of “Die Hard 2”, revealed it Bruce Willis didn’t want to come back for ‘Die hard 2’, because they had changed John McClane, a man of action “completely straight, this film had to be serious”, were the actor’s words when he saw what they had done to his protagonist.

Bruce Willis didn’t want to no jokes or comedic style ‘Die hard 2’, which set off alarm clocks for the rest of the production. The director comments on what he said to the actor at the time: “He’s not the John McClane that audiences love. They feel that you are their friend now, and they don’t want to lose their friend”, were the statements to try to convince Willis.

Joel Silver, producer of the sequel, had to step in, because Bruce Willis was determined not to participate ‘Die hard 2’. The three parties reached an agreement, as the director recalls: “We had a great meeting, Joel, Bruce and I. The result was that Bruce agreed to do all the takes he wanted the way I wanted to do it, and then we would do one the way I wanted, with humor. He did it reluctantly and not very happily, but he did it.”

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The “Die Hard” scene that Bruce Willis hated

The director says he capitalized on every moment Bruce Willis smiled during filming, even before the actor realized it was taped. The humorous moments worked so well between the producers, that when executives were the result, they asked if they didn’t have more humorous moments. However, the film actor was not at all happy with one scene in the film.

The scene in question was when a character was flirting with McClane, and McClane was showing him her wedding ring, a gesture that angered Willis: “Bruce hated him. He said, ‘He’s so corny and stupid. I refuse to tell. It took an hour there at the counter with me begging him and Joel to get involved to get him to say it once every 15 takes. But it’s in the movie and people love it. It’s not only funny, it shows that he cares about his wife. It makes him relatable and truly an honorable guy. Because it’s not just about saving the world, it’s about something much more personal.”

And although the first installment already had a very unique humor for action cinema, Bruce Willis did not want to participate because he was afraid of becoming a comic actor or that he would not be taken seriously. Luckily for him, and that of the franchise, ‘Die Hard 2’ has proved to be an excellent sequel that has been able to maintain the level.