Hit Movie Alan Rickman Initially Hated So Much He Went Full What-The-Hell Mode
The role of Hans Gruber in Die Hard was a breakthrough for Alan Rickman's acting career, but the actor himself almost gave it up because he did not want to be the embodiment of stereotypes.
Alan had been acting for a long time, but only on stage. When he decided to retrain as a movie actor, the agent brought him the script for Die Hard. And what was the reaction of the then unknown British actor?
He got angry and said: "What the hell is this? I'm not doing an action movie!"
Alan felt that the script was too simple and also did not want to try out the image of a typical Englishman playing villains in Hollywood.
However, the creators of the movie, director John McTiernan and producer Joel Silver discovered Rickman in 1987 at the play Dangerous Liaisons, where Alan played the Viscount de Valmont.
They immediately knew it was him they wanted to see in the role of Hans Gruber. After some consideration, Alan agreed to the role, marking yet another milestone in his acting career.
The first shooting of the actor did not go off without a hitch.
In the first take, when Hans Gruber meets John McClane, Alan Rickman injured his knee while performing a jump from height and had to walk on crutches for a week (that's what stuntmen are for).
All this time he was filmed close-up, because he could only stand on one leg. The story of one of the most famous shots from the movie is also known.
The actor was supposed to "fall from a skyscraper" on a green screen, the film team promised to release Rickman on the count of "three", but did it on the count of "one".
Alan was not expecting such a turn of events, so the scene turned out to be particularly lively.
The actor later admitted that he changed his mind about the movie during the shooting. In his opinion, Die Hard was quite revolutionary for its time, and did not follow the then-common Hollywood stereotypes.
Although the actor is considered a genius for playing villainous roles, which he first proved in Die Hard, he also has wonderful comedic roles.
For example, in the movie Gambit, he played an eccentric billionaire who is being deceived by an art connoisseur. As a brilliant villain on screen and a sincere and gentle man in life, Alan Rickman will forever be remembered by his fans.