Reginald VelJohnson and Bruce Willis on the set of Die Hard. Made for $28 million, it went on to... [+]
Die Hard is returning to theaters for two days only.
It’ll be back on the screen to mark its 30th anniversary on Sunday, November 11, 2018, and Wednesday, November 14, 2018, thanks to Fathom Events and Turner Classic Movies.
Made for $28 million, Die Hard, which opened to ambivalent reviews from critics, went on to gross over $140 million worldwide, unadjusted for inflation. It’s now widely considered to be a classic, and Christmas, movie.
Perhaps as iconic as Bruce Willis’ John McClane and Alan Rickman’s Hans Gruber is Reginald VelJohnson’s hero cop, Sgt. Al Powell.
I caught up with VelJohnson to talk about Die Hard, its big screen revival, his openness to a franchise return - and he reveals his involvement in a Crocodile Dundee sequel.
Simon Thompson: First, I have to ask, how often do you walk into a room and people say "Welcome to the party, pal!"?
Reginald VelJohnson: Quite a few times actually, thank you very much, and I love it. That's so funny!
ST: Does it seem like 30 years since Die Hard first hit theaters?
RVJ: Lately with the celebrations and the things have been happening. It doesn't seem like 30 years; it feels like it was just last month that it came out.
ST: Are you amazed by how iconic and well-loved Al Powell is?
RVJ: Absolutely. It's been 30 years, and people are still excited about this movie. I can’t believe it, but I accept it and appreciate it 100%. It was my first really big film role, and after so much time has passed, people still love it. I think it's a beautiful thing that people adore this movie as much as they do. I'm very thankful for having the chance to be a part of it.
ST: It's funny how you say you can't believe Die Hard's popularity. Why is that? Even when you were making it, did it not feel like it was going to be something special?
RVJ: No, honestly, it didn't. When I got to the part, it was interesting because they weren't sure, and I wasn't sure about me getting the job, but they wanted to put me in the cop uniform to see what I would look like. After that, they sent me back to New York and then a couple of weeks later on they called me to say I got the part, so I came back out to California. I was going to be out here so long; it turned out to be about nine months, so I decided to move permanently, and I just stayed here. The rest, as they say, is history.
ST: People often say they take a role, and it changes their life, but this one literally did utterly change your life.
RVJ: It really did. It was an exciting time for me, transitioning from the New York way of life to living in California and being so new to everything, but it was very timely.
ST: It also changed the lives of Bruce Willis, obviously very well known for Moonlighting at the time, and this was Alan Rickman's first Hollywood movie. Did this give you guys some camaraderie?
RVJ: Very much so, it changed everybody's lives. I remember meeting Alan for the first time. He was such a wonderful, kind person, and we had a lot of conversations while we were filming. Nobody knew how much what we were doing was going to change our lives, but here we are, 30 years later, and I'm still answering these questions. I never imagined that. I thought I would do that one thing and then go back to New York and that will be it and I'd go on with my life. I loved watching Bruce filming the last Moonlighting, and then us running through lines for the movie but having no idea how much impact what we were doing would have. Bruce is a wonderful man; he's very warm-hearted. It was a wonderful time. Had we known what a big deal it was I think we would have been a lot more nervous.
ST: Die Hard is beloved now, but it didn't get the best reception from critics at the time. Do you remember that opening weekend?
RVJ: Exactly, they love it now but not at the time. When Die Hard first came out, I used to watch the film in a movie theater a couple of blocks from my house. I'd ask the owner if he would let me sit at the back and watch the audience's reaction to the film and see how, and whether or not, they reacted to my performance. That's how I got to learn, pretty early on, how people, paying audiences, responded to the film. I'd go every other night. It was my first time on film, and I wanted to see the reaction, it was such a thrill. I was a young actor then, it was exciting, it was a lovely time.
ST: Which movie theater was that?
RVJ: It was The Egyptian Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard. It was great that the manager would let me just come in and watch, but I did pay my way at first, and then he let me in for free.
ST: What is about Die Hard that worked so well and made it such an exceptional genre piece?
RVJ: I think it was to do with the relationship between Al Powell and John McClane and McClane's situation with his wife. It was about something significant happening in someone's life, and I think people relate to that. It became something that was memorable because everybody put themselves in John McClane's place or had a reminder of a situation in their lives and what they took away from that. And of course Alan Rickman as Hans Gruber who was an awesome villain.
ST: You had a crucial role in Die Hard and a much smaller one in Die Hard 2. Have you ever had conversations about a return to the franchise?
RVJ: If they came up with the right story I sure would, absolutely. In a heartbeat. When I did the second one I was involved in my TV series, Family Matters, and so I couldn't do the entire film. Joel Silver was very upset because I couldn't do as much on the second one as I had on the first one. He was kind of angry with me. If they came up with another idea for my character I would certainly do it because Die Hard gave me my career, it gave me my life, and so I have love and respect for everyone involved in that movie.
ST: Has an Al Powell Die Hard spin-off ever been discussed? I always felt that would have been a great idea and is something of a missed opportunity. Perhaps as a TV show?
RVJ: Would I consider it? I played a police officer on TV in Family Matters, and that's because one of the producers saw me in Die Hard playing a cop. I'm open to it. If they asked me, I'd seriously think about it. I love Al Powell.
ST: Can we also talk briefly about another movie that people have loved you in, Crocodile Dundee?
RVJ: Well, I just shot the sequel. I just came from Australia with Paul Hogan. I play Gus, the character I played in the first one. He's pretty much the same, he's a bit older now, but he's a man's man. I think people will love what they've done with him. We filmed it in Australia, and I was there for three weeks. I hope that it becomes successful, but we'll see. Paul is making a comeback, and I'm very interested to see what he comes back with. He's a little older now, but I hope he gets respected for what he did with the movie. Crocodile Dundee was well loved, it was a big success, and people still love the character he played, but we'll see what happens. Paul's such a special person and such a wonderful man, going back and working with him again was a wonderful thing for me. It was my first time in Australia, and it’s a lovely place.
ST: What's it like to have Die Hard back in movie theaters to celebrate the 30th anniversary?
RVJ: I think it's terrific, it really is. People were just discovering Die Hard and finding out about it for the first time 30 years ago, but now we have that audience who love it and a whole new audience who are discovering it for the first time. You really can't beat seeing it with other people. It's a fantastic atmosphere. The fact that people are still excited to see this movie that they've seen a thousand times is wonderful.
ST: For a lot of people Die Hard is their go-to Christmas movie. What is yours?
RVJ: Die Hard. We didn't realize it was a Christmas movie until we'd made it and people started demanding that it was a Christmas movie. It was only really then that I realized that it was a Christmas movie because it has the snow, the Christmas songs, it's set at Christmas at a Christmas party and then there all the other things. If they showed it every Christmas that would be fine by me. The only thing is that when I see it now, I look at myself and think I have to lose some weight. I'm a lot older now. Doing Die Hard was such a wonderful time for me, and a lot of that was because of the people involved.
ST: So Die Hard IS a Christmas movie?
RVJ: Absolutely, yes. It is a Christmas movie.
Die Hard returns to theaters on Sunday, November 11, 2018, and Wednesday, November 14, 2018. You find out where and purchase tickets on the Fathom Events website.
