Bruce Willis wasn’t even the studio’s third choice for the lead

After Sinatra wisely said no, they needed someone else to make sure the film was going to be a success – a bona fide action star. They offered it to a crazy list of A-list actors at the time. Rumours have Sylvester Stallone, Harrison Ford, Robert De Niro, Charles Bronson, Nick Nolte, Mel Gibson, Richard Gere, Don Johnson, Burt Reynolds and even MacGyver himself, Richard Dean Anderson for the role of John McClane.

They all said no.