There’s a good reason Hans Gruber’s death looks so realistic in Die Hard. The Bruce Willis classic left a lasting mark on cinema, setting the standard for 1980s action movies and triggering a 5-movie franchise that never quite managed to recapture the magic of the original. Die Hard also succeeded in starting a decades-long argument as to what constitutes a Christmas movie. Among the many elements that have kept Die Hard relevant over the years are Bruce Willis’ grizzled performance, the spectacular stunts and set pieces, and of course, Alan Rickman on villain duty as Hans Gruber. With the iconic Nakatomi Plaza as his battleground, Willis’ John McClane is the lone hero when Gruber attacks the skyscraper intending to steal millions in bonds.

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Fighting single-handed through Gruber’s various henchmen and assisted by Sgt. Powell on the outside, McClane manages to shoot his way to the top and wound Gruber with one of his last bullets. Rickman’s villain is left dangling from the top of the tower, clutching onto the hero’s wife, and dramatically falls to his death in slow-motion when McClane removes Holly’s watch and breaks Gruber’s grip. Compared to modern effects, the LA backdrop below Gruber looks a little rough around the edges, with a blue background used during filming and replaced with a city landscape in post-production. Fortunately, any flaw in the 1988 pre-CGI visuals can be overlooked, as the audience is directed to focus entirely on Alan Rickman’s horrified facial expression.

While no one could argue that Rickman is one of the finest actors to ever grace the big screen, there’s a lot more to the punch of Hans Gruber’s death than just acting talent and years of stage experience. Although the actor recalls producers being uneasy about the prospect, Rickman agreed to do the fall scene himself when asked by director, John McTiernan, looking to add authenticity to the death. Rickman was rigged to be dropped backwards onto a blue crash mat on the count of 3, however, Die Hard stunt coordinator, Charlie Picerni, devised a plan to drop Rickman at “one” in order to provoke a genuine reaction of shock. Whether by design or fortunate coincidence, this was the final scene Die Hard filmed, meaning any protests Rickman might’ve made about being dropped 2 seconds too early wouldn’t have caused any problems, and nor would any injuries that came as a result.

Special effects foreman, Thaine Morris, claims that while Rickman was, thankfully, unhurt, he wasn’t best pleased about the deception, although the actor would speak fondly of the stunt in later years. Looking back, there was certainly method in the Die Hard stunt team’s madness. Even though Rickman agreed to the fall, dropping a famous actor 40ft backwards from a high platform is not something that can be afforded multiple takes, so McTiernan needed to get Gruber’s death right first time if possible. This might explain why the decision was made to drop Rickman a beat quicker than he expected, and the legacy of the villain’s dramatic demise arguably justifies the behind the scenes trick, even if it did upset one of Britain’s best actors in the immediate aftermath.

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Craig Elvy
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Craig first began contributing to Screen Rant in 2016, several years after graduating college, and has been ranting ever since, mostly to himself in a darkened room. Having previously written for various sports and music outlets, Craig’s interest soon turned to TV and film, where a steady upbringing of science fiction and comic books finally came into its own.
Craig has previously been published on sites such as Den of Geek, and after many coffee-drenched hours hunched over a laptop, part-time evening work eventually turned into a full-time career covering everything from the zombie apocalypse to the Starship Enterprise via the TARDIS.

Since joining the Screen Rant fold, Craig has been involved in breaking news stories and mildly controversial ranking lists, but now works predominantly as a features writer.
Jim Carrey is Craig’s top acting pick and favorite topics include superheroes, anime and the unrecognized genius of the High School Musical trilogy.

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