Yeah, yeah, yippee-ki-yay, motherfuckers, we’ve finally got a Jack McClane for the fifth Die Hard film ‐ A Good Day to Die Hard. Wait, they really went with that title? Whatever. After months of searching for a tough dude to play Bruce Willis’ son (and the other leading man in the film), 20th Century Fox has set relative unknown Jai Courtney for the role. Other names that were rumored to potentially grab the role have included Liam Hemsworth, Aaron Paul, James Badge Dale, D.J. Cotrona, Paul Walker, and Milo Ventimiglia.
While Courtney might not be that well-known in the States, he’s actually got a pretty impressive resume on his hands. Courtney is a trained actor who studied drama at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (he graduated in 2008). Courtney cut his teeth on the meat and potatoes of Oz ‐ popular hit shows Packed To the Rafters and All Saints. But the guy didn’t just do soapy stuff ‐ he also won a Theatre Critics Award as Best Newcomer for his performance in “The Turning.” The actor made the jump from Aussie-centric stuff when he was cast in Spartacus: Blood and Sand in 2009, where’s he been duking it out before landing not only this big role, but a role in Tom Cruise vehicle One Shot. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a trained and talented new action star on the rise? That would be nice.
After the break, check out a picture of Courtney during a screen test…with Bruce Willis! Ooooh! Guess what, when the dude sheds his hair, he actually looks quite a bit like his on-screen pop.
The film “puts McClane on an international stage ‐ truly a NYC fish out of water in Moscow ‐ and introduces his estranged son Jack. An apple that has not fallen far from the tree, Jack may even be more of a hardass than his father. Despite their differences, they must work together to keep each other alive and the world safe for democracy.”
In Die Hard, the character was played by Noah Land (who has no other acting credits to his name), but we haven’t seen the character since then. In Live Free or Die Hard, he was referred to by the name “Jack,” and it was revealed the he goes by his mother’s last name, making him “Jack Gennero.” And, yup, that’s just about everything we’ve got on Jack.
A Good Day to Die Hard will reportedly start filming this April, in order to be ready for its set February 14, 2013 release date. [ComingSoon]
Related Topics: Bruce Willis
