Bruce Willis has been kicking ass as John McClane for three decades over five films in the Die Hard franchise. The first Die Hard film was released July 1988, which makes it yet another film celebrating a significant anniversary this year.
There are people who argue that Die Hard is a Christmas movie and there are others who despise those who make a point of stating that Die Hard is a Christmas movie. All while this is going on, we’re just over here disappointed that with all these die-hard Die Hard fans, so few are die-hard enough to have themselves a Die Hard themed tattoo.
Have we typed Die Hard enough yet?
Given the profanity of John McClane’s iconic catchphrase, you could forgo it and it won’t be of detriment to your tattoo. Your Die Hard tattoo doesn’t even have to feature John McClane – so often film fans choose the villains instead.
If you find yourself drawn to evil characters then you may be considering a Hans Gruber (played by Alan Rickman) tattoo. Furthermore, if you’re both a fan of Harry Potter and Die Hard, you could combine Severus Snape and Hans Gruber in the one tattoo.
Something like the face split tattoos that @stickypop is known for could work, or even a double exposure tattoo like @jayjoree produces could be something to consider.
A face split allows you to represent Alan Rickman (or your person of choice) as two of his most memorable characters, while a double exposure piece is a bit more subtle with the silhouette of one character filled with imagery or a scene featuring the other character.
The challenge is finding an artist that tattoos in the style you prefer, that has the imagination and skill to bring your vision to life, but that’s also half the fun of getting a tattoo. Once you find ‘the one’ you’ll be yelling out “yippee ki-yay, motherfucker” just like John McClane.
Updated: November 2019
Double exposure Die Hard tattoo by @monnet_tattoo
Kewpie John McClane tattoo by @attackofthe50footwoman
Colour realism John McClane tattoo by @davidcorde
Updated: December 17, 2020
Colour realism Hans Gruber (Die Hard) tattoo by @chrismeighantattoo
Die Hard themed lighter tattoo by @deadmeat