Los Angeles: "Harry Potter" star Alan Rickman revealed he almost turned down his first film role in 1988's "Die Hard".
Speaking at a BAFTA celebration of his work, the 69-year-old actor, who started out on the stage, admitted that "having a film career at all is a bit of a surprise", reported Ace Showbiz.
The British actor recalled his initial disdain when he was first offered the film role two days after he arrived in Los Angeles in 1987.
"I didn't know anything about LA. I didn't know anything about the film business... I'd never made a film before, but I was extremely cheap."
After he read the script, he thought, "What the hell is this? I'm not doing an action movie."
Rickman later agreed to do the film over the wit of the script and the progressive storyline. "Every single black character in that film is positive and highly intelligent. So, 28 years ago, that's quite revolutionary, and quietly so," he said.
He also added his own flavor to his character Hans Gruber, who was originally to appear wearing terrorist attire.
