20 Things You Somehow Missed In Die Hard

20. Many Of Alan Rickman's Expressions Were Genuine

Die Hard was Alan Rickman's first major Hollywood role following a successful television and theatre career in his native Great Britain. Indeed, he was at first hesitant to accept the role of Hans Guber, as he would be performing in an action film but, when filming began, that became the least of the future Severus Snape's worries: he needed to keep track of his expressions onscreen.

One early example comes in the sequences in which Hart Bochner's Harry Ellis walks in on him and says "Hans, bubby". Gruber gives Ellis a quizzical look and this was not actually acting: Rickman was genuinely surprised by what Bochner was doing, but continued to act around him.

The greatest example, however, comes in Gruber's death scene, where he plummets down the side of Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles, threatening to take Holly Gennero-McClane (Bonnie Bedelia) with him. Unfastening Holly's wristwatch, Bruce Willis's John McClane sends Gruber to his own shocking demise. Sounds simple, right?

For Rickman, it was far from it; poised over a 21-foot drop to a soft landing below, Rickman was told by the stunt team that they would release him on the count of three. However, they decided to let him go on the count of two instead, evoking the now classic reaction from Rickman that brought so much to Hans Gruber's comeuppance.