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MOOzikmktr t1_j2ax397 wrote

Reply to comment by LoveEffective1349 in Was Bruce Willis in Die Hard the ushering in of the modern everyman action star? by SquatOnAPitbull

I would also suggest Charles Bronson and Gene Hackman. I don't really feel like people perceived Bruce as an "everyman" based on his looks and his prior work in TV. He was only written as a hard working cop from New Yawk.

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Automatic_Randomizer t1_j2b6r39 wrote

I thought of Charles Bronson, and also Clint Eastwood. The "everyman" action star was done many times before Die Hard.

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Equal-Temporary-1326 t1_j2bg2bz wrote

That was the key aspect of the film. The studio wanted Arnold or Stallone to star, but McTerinan wanted to do something different and cast an everyman to make it more realistic.

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UnderstandingOdd679 t1_j2c0aeo wrote

I was going say Bronson as well. He was the Liam Neeson “Taken” dad 40 years before Liam.

Eastwood also played a regular cop in his Dirty Harry series after his Westerns.

John Wayne, I suppose, before that.

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JC-Ice t1_j2emqb8 wrote

I wouldn't call them "everyman" types. They don't megamuscles, but they're presented as tough guys radiating an aura of deadly professionalism, unflappable under pressure.

You'd never see Clint Eastwood going, "Please God, don't let me die!" while clinging to the side of a building.

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LazyJediTelekinetic t1_j2dltu7 wrote

Thanks! I came here to rattle off Bronson, Eastwood, and Hackman.

Also, Whoopi Goldberg in Burglar and Fatal Beauty.

Also Nolte and Murphy in the 48 Hours movies, Murphy in Beverly Hills Cop.

Really the action cop genre existed long before Die Hard. Willis just did a really good job believably taking out 15 heavily armed Euro thieves.

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MOOzikmktr t1_j2dmj6m wrote

yeah - a NY beat cop who fights like a special forces commando. Totally an "every man" type and completely believable. lol

It was a great movie, but McTiernan spouting his "regular guy" claim is nothing but marketing.

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