20 Things You Didn't Know About Die Hard

10. Supporting Characters Got Bigger Roles To Reduce Bruce Willis' Shooting Schedule

Die Hard Al Powell
Fox

Die Hard boasts some of the most memorable supporting characters of any action movie in history: the likes of troubled cop Al Powell (Reginald VelJohnson), douchebag Nakatomi hotshot Ellis (Hart Bochner), hilarious limo driver Argyle (De'voreaux White), tosspot reporter Richard Thornburg (William Atherton), Hans' techie Theo (Clarence Gilyard), and FBI Agents Johnson and Johnson (Robert Davi and Grand L. Bush).

But many of these characters had far smaller roles in the original shooting script, and it was only due to Bruce Willis' busy schedule - where he was shooting Moonlighting during the day and Die Hard at night - that Steven E. de Souza rewrote the script to give these characters more to do.

As a result, despite being the film's protagonist, McClane's screen time was subtly reduced before shooting began in favour of the peripheral characters.

Yet you'd never know it was a concession to accommodate an exhausted Willis - the balance feels totally perfect.

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Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.