Caffeinated Clint
Australian actor Jai Courtney has snagged the role of ‘Jack’ McClane in Fox’s “A Good Day to Die Hard”.
Fox tells us the “Spartacus” and “Packed to the Rafters” alum bet fellow countryman Liam Hemsworth to the part.
In the John Moore directed sequel, McClane’s senior and junior (Bruce Willis and Courtney, respectively) team up in Russia to take on terrorists.
Though he has roles in upcoming big-ticket fare like “One Shot” with Tom Cruise and “I, Frankenstein” with Aaron Eckhart, “Die Hard” is Courtney’s first major leading role.
“A Good Day to Die Hard” 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.
The film begins production this April, for a February 14, 2013 release.
Courtney, studied drama at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), where he graduated in 2008. Following graduation Courtney quickly landed guest star roles on two hit Australian shows, Packed To the Rafters followed by All Saints. Later that year, Courtney won a Theatre Critics Award as Best Newcomer for his performance in The Turning for the Perth Theatre Company. In 2009 he landed the role of Varro in the international television hit, Spartacus: Blood and Sand. Fans of the show created an uproar over Varro’s death and to this day continue to lament about it on the many Spartacus fan sites and blogs. Last year, Courtney landed a starring role opposite Tom Cruise in One Shot, directed by Christopher McQuarrie.
Now let’s just hope this new “Die Hard” isn’t another fuckin’ atrocity.
