The legendary role Alan Rickman almost turned down: “Now I have a machine gun”
Prior to Alan Rickman‘s extraordinary film career, he’d largely been a performer of the theatre. Known for his brooding charisma and his deep and mysterious voice, Rickman had first trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art before going on to become a member of the Royal Shakespeare Academy.
Eventually, after years of theatre, Rickman would extend his talents to the world of cinema, playing the Sherriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and making later efforts in Truly, Madly, Deeply, Sense and Sensibility and Michael Collins. Of course, one cannot forget Rickman’s iconic role as Severus Snape in the Harry Potter movies.
While many fans of Rickman call to mind his performances in the Harry Potter series, it’s hard not to think of the legendary actor and not think of his excellent effort in the first Die Hard movie. In portraying the film’s antagonist, the German terrorist leader Hans Gruber, Rickman redefined the action movie villain.
John McTiernan’s 1988 thriller is considered one of the greatest action movies of all time. It sees Bruce Willis play the New York City police detective John McClane, who must save the employees of a corporation trapped hostage inside a Los Angeles skyscraper under the watch of Gruber on Christmas Eve.
Despite the brilliant performance of Rickman as Gruber, the actor very nearly turned the role down. Speaking at a BAFTA event celebrating his career, Rickman explained that when the opportunity for Die Hard – which just so happened to be his first feature film role – came up, he was still pretty fresh to having arrived in Los Angeles.
“I didn’t know anything about LA. I didn’t know anything about the film business,” Rickman said. Because of Rickman’s lack of experience in Hollywood, he was available for casting for “very cheap”. However, even with interest in his potential, Rickman was not impressed with the script of Die Hard, written by Jeb Stuart and Steven E de Souza, based on Roderick Thorp’s 1979 novel Nothing Lasts Forever.
Upon reading the script, Rickman had turned his nose up at it, noting, “I read it, and I said, ‘What the hell is this? I’m not doing an action movie.'” Having spent the early part of his career in the theatre, Rickman did not believe his heart lay in Hollywood blockbusters, but when advised, he realised that he had been afforded a rare opportunity.
The actor said, “Agents and people said: ‘Alan, you don’t understand, this doesn’t happen. You’ve only been in L.A. two days, and you’ve been asked to do this film.'” Eventually, Rickman decided to give his first feature film performance as Gruber and gave one of the most memorable acting efforts of the 1980s.
Rickman thrived in the role, and once he had taken it on, he even began to make suggestions about the kind of costume that his character should wear. “I was just thinking: If I was wearing a suit and not all of this terrorist gear, then maybe there could be a scene where I put on an American accent, and he thinks I’m one of the hostages,” the actor said.
Producer Joel Silver originally told Rickman to “get the hell out of here” and that he would wear what he was told. However, turning up for the shoot, Silver had taken Rickman’s suggestion, and the actor’s experience as a theatre actor began to shine through, understanding the importance of minor changes.
Check out the trailer for Die Hard below.
