8. Die Hard (1988)
Horrible Idea At The Time Because... Bruce Willis Was Not Considered A Worthy Action Star Looking back at
Die Hard, it's nearly impossible to see how "Bruce Willis trapped in a building killing terrorists" doesn't sound like a box office dynamite, but there was genuinely a point in history where this seemed like an actually terrible idea, and everyone involved was literally sh*tting themselves at the prospect of their movie flopping at the box office. But why would a Bruce Willis action movie flop at the box office? Well, because at the time, Bruce Willis was known as something of a comedy star (seriously), and not the badass we know him as now.
Die Hard was originally offered to just about every single established action actor in Hollywood, you see, all of whom turned it down. This included the likes of Harrison Ford, Sylvester Stallone, Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds: nobody wanted it. Willis was brought in as a last resort, but the producers were still unsure about whether or not he could pull it off... and to be fair, "that funny guy from
Moonlighting in a violent action movie" sounds like a terrible pitch. As a result, the marketing was tweaked as to not focus on Bruce Willis' casting. Hard to believe, considering that this is now considered by many to be
the definitive action movie and Willis an action legend.