Bruce Willis’ Favorite Scene From Die Hard Is Unexpected

This post contains spoilers for “Die Hard.”

Having to choose a favorite scene from “Die Hard” is like sticking to one dish in an all-you-can-eat buffet. The bounties that 1988’s “Die Hard” — which is now considered one of the greatest action films of all time — offers are plentiful, but the thing it does best is establish a male protagonist who isn’t invincible or immune to emotions; instead, they’re as flawed and vulnerable as the average person. At the same time, however, John McClane (Bruce Willis) is anything but average, given his ability to circumvent every attempt to kill him due to sheer luck and emerge as a reluctant hero who must give into vigilantism against all odds.

The opening of “Die Hard” can be considered a solid scene unto itself. As McClane is taken to Nakatomi Plaza by his driver Argyle (De’voreaux White), their exchange allows us to learn a few quick facts about the kind of world they inhabit. McClane cannot bear to sit in the back, so he sits in the front next to Argyle, and when the latter puts on “Christmas in Hollis” by Run-DMC, McClane requests Christmas music instead. “But this is Christmas music,” Argyle quips, and he is obviously right; the tone of the opening scene, and the way this ride is shot on the cusp of dusk, establishes “Die Hard” itself as a different kind of Christmas movie, the biggest difference being that something ominous lurks on the horizon.

Plenty of other scenes from the film are endlessly rewatchable, such as when McClane crawls through the ventilation shaft while giving himself a humorous pep talk or the genuinely audacious rooftop jump (which Willis filmed on his first day on set) that feels equal parts realistic and fantastical. However, when Entertainment Weekly asked Bruce Willis about his favorite “Die Hard” scene in 2007, the actor highlighted an unconventional yet powerful moment that subtly defines John McClane as an action hero.

Willis was not the first choice for playing McClane in “Die Hard,” as the role was famously declined by a string of action A-listers that included Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone. Similarly, at the time, Willis was mostly known for his television roles and had a steady gig in ABC’s “Moonlighting,” but “Die Hard” put him directly in the spotlight despite the fact that his performance elicited divided critical reactions at the time. However, re-evaluations of the “Die Hard” franchise have brought a newfound appreciation for Willis’ turn as McClane, where he plays an unconventional hero that helped reinvigorate the very idea of an action flick, along with the stakes that accompany such genre offerings.

During his interview with EW, Willis revealed that his favorite “Die Hard” moment is when McClane gets a little teary-eyed while talking about his estranged wife, Holly (Bonnie Bedelia), underlining the vulnerability beneath the sarcastic machismo of the character:

“Yeah, there was some discussion about whether or not McClane should cry or get choked up when he’s talking about saying good-bye to his wife. And I remember we did one take without and one with, and everybody liked the one where I got a bit choked up. I thought that was an interesting scene.”

Like any good protagonist, McClane has also evolved over the years, and Willis touched upon this evolution in the same interview, stating that the version of McClane in “Live Free or Die Hard” is a much older, jaded version of the character who “bounces off the concrete with a little less zing.” He’s the same at his core, of course, brash and straightforward, while making ample space for vulnerability, but in that entry he is “an analog cop in a digital world” and a bit out of touch with everything zooming by in his life. Nevertheless, McClane remains as badass and driven as ever, even in the maligned 2013 entry ” A Good Day to Die Hard.” Yippee-ki-yay, mother… well, you know how the line goes.