Die Hard Turns 30! Why Bruce Willis Was 'Concerned' Making His First Blockbuster
Bruce Willis may be a Hollywood icon, but he had a lot to prove on the set of his first major blockbuster, Die Hard.
The actor was “very committed to doing the part” of New York City police officer John McClane in the 1988 film — portraying a cop who becomes trapped inside of a tower overtaken by terrorists.
The classic action film, which celebrated its 30th anniversary on July 20, launched Willis into superstardom.
“Whenever he was on set he was very into the character so I didn’t really bother him,” his Die Hard costar Reginald VelJohnson told PEOPLE at an anniversary screening held at the famous Fox Plaza in Century City, California, which starred as Nakatomi Tower in the film.
“Every once in a while, we’d stop to talk but he was very into the character,” continued VelJohnson, who played LAPD officer Al Powell in the film. “I think it was his first big film and he wanted to make it right, he wanted to make it work. He was more concerned with how to do the role rather than anything else.”
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Bonnie Bedelia, who played Willis’ wife Holly Gennaro McClane, agreed.
“You bet it was [his first big film],” Bedelia told PEOPLE. “It was kind of like a big thing when he got this because he was just on Moonlighting.”
“This was his first movie, and he was the star of a huge blockbuster and it was very well advertised that he was making $5 million, which at the time was unbelievable,” she added. “And everybody was like, ‘Why would you pay $5 million to an untried movie star?’ But boy, someone was really smart.”
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Willis’ casting ended up being a solid bet for the studio. Die Hard grossed about $140.8 million at the box office, far outpacing its $28 million budget.
At the time of the film’s release, Willis was known mostly for his role as David Addison Jr. on the ABC series Moonlighting, which helped establish him as a comedic actor.
“I think he was still doing the TV series as he was making the movie,” VelJohnson said. “And I remember coming by one day, he was in the car filming a scene with Cybill Shepherd and he just looked tired. He looked like he was doing two things at one time.”
Bedelia added Willis was struggling to juggle two projects at the same time.
“He didn’t want to go back [to Moonlighting]. We were shooting in the big waterfall, Nakatomi set and he had to go over to the soundstage and do the scenes,” she said. “It’s hard to go back. It’s like you get promoted and you have to go back and finish what you had before.”
“He didn’t look happy,” VelJohnson added.
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Despite his supposed reluctance to continue on with the ABC series, Bedelia said Willis faced his duties head-on.
“He was great. He had a great sense of humor. He was very funny about having to go back,” she said. “He knows he owes a lot to Moonlighting. He was wonderful in that.”
Willis was also juggling a new romance. Established star Demi Moore was a frequent figure on the set according to the actor — and made Willis “kind of distracted” from making deeper connections with his costars.
“She was there,” Bedelia said of Moore’s presence on the set. “You know when romance is new and everything.”
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And while Die Hard may be seen by some as a Christmas movie, the actor went against the grain and disagreed.
“Die Hard is not a Christmas movie!” Willis said at the end of his Comedy Central roast.
The star might feel it’s not, but Bedelia disagrees.
“Yes [it is],” Bedelia said. “It’s not your typical, sweet family Christmas movie but I think it’s entered the Christmas classic category.”
She added, “It’s a new Christmas classic, no question.”
The Die Hard 30th Anniversary edition is out now on 4K, Blu-ray, and Digital.
