Bruce Willis is an incredibly popular face in Hollywood. Starting off as a TV actor during his early days, the actor got his first breakthrough in the series Moonlighting. Since then, Willis was on a roll, delivering a huge number of hits throughout his career. While the actor starred in a plethora of films, his most popular work still remains to be in the Die Hard film series. Not long ago, the film completed 35 years in Hollywood, and interestingly, Arnold Schwarzenegger had a moment with Willis before he landed the role.

Thirty-five years ago, Bruce Willis entered Die Hard as an ordinary guy but walked out as one of Hollywood’s biggest action stars. It was oddly surprising for someone like Willis to do an action film. Neither did he have a muscular physique nor did he know the genre well. However, prior to starring in the film, Willis had a brief interaction with the then-biggest action star, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

As per Fox News, both actors crossed paths during a dinner in Santa Monica. Interestingly, the Terminator star called out Willis loud enough for everyone in the room to hear. Schwarzenegger asked Willis if he knew that he would never become an action star. To which Willis asked the Austrian-born why he thought that way.

Witty as he is, Schwarzenegger flexed his biceps before taunting Willis, “Toothpick Arms.” Interestingly, much to Schwarzenegger’s disappointment, the film turned out to become one of the biggest action films. Moreover, Willis established himself as one of the biggest action stars in the film.

Surprising as it sounds, there were two reasons why Die Hard’s success must have bothered Schwarzenegger. Firstly, the Austrian Oak’s prediction about Willis’s future in action films stood corrected. Secondly, long before the role went on to Willis, Schwarzenegger had already refused to star in the movie. Interestingly, another huge star was considered for Die Hard before Bruce Willis.

Bruce Willis was not the first choice for his role in Die Hard

Die Hard, as we all know, was one of the highest-grossing action films of its time. The 1989 action starrer grossed nearly $140 million around the world. However, a lot went down both on and off the sets before making Die Hard one of Hollywood’s most-loved movies.

It might surprise you to know but the lead role played by Bruce Willis a.k.a John McLane almost went out to legendary singer Frank Sinatra. Sinatra had starred in the film’s prequel, The Detective, obligating the creators to offer him the role in Die Hard as well. However, the actor was already 73 years old and politely refused the opportunity. Following that, the role went on to several Hollywood stars, including Schwarzenegger, who passed it and ended up in Willis’ favor.

Do you think any actor could do justice to Die Hard like Bruce Willis? Comment down below.