'Die Hard' star Bruce Willis nearly died during first day of filming: book
In the '80s, "Die Hard" seemed impossible to cast, with Hollywood heavy hitters like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Clint Eastwood, Richard Gere and more passing on the role as NYPD detective John McClane. Bruce Willis was not the team's first, even second or third option for the role — and Willis' agent, Arnold Rifkin, took full advantage of the opportunity, hiking up the actor's acting price to $5 million, according to a new book, "The Last Action Heroes: The Triumphs, Flops, and Feuds of Hollywood’s Kings of Carnage." "All the possible action people turned it down," producer Larry Gordon said, per author Nick de Semlyen's book.