THREE decades after it hit theaters in 1988, Die Hard remains one of the most iconic action films of all time.

The era-defining film pushed Bruce Willis to superstardom – and sparked a long-running debate over whether it qualifies as a Christmas movie.

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The plot centers around a New York City police detective who, while visiting his wife and two daughters in Los Angeles on Christmas Eve, is caught up in a terrorist attack in a skyscraper.

It was announced this week Clarence Gilliardwho played techie Theo, has died aged 66, reportedly after battling a long illness.

His career spanned over 30 years and saw him play characters such as Marcus ‘Sunset’ Williams in the 1986 film Top Gun, which also starred Tom Cruise.

His other acting credits include roles on the television series Matlock from 1989 to 1993 and Walker Texas Ranger in the 1990s.

He was also a professor of theater at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Here we take a look at what happened to the rest of his Dying Men cast mates.

Bruce Willis – John McClane

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John McClane’s role in the film paved the way for a string of action roles for Bruce Willis, now 67.

After that, he starred in the cult films “Pulp Fiction”, “The Fifth Element” and “Sin City”.

Bruce has won several awards, including a Golden Globe and two Emmys, and was named the eighth highest-grossing leading actor in 2010.

The talented star is also a musician who has released three albums and had a rock star alter ego – Bruno Rodolini – in the early days of his career.

Bruce was married to an actress Demi Moorewith whom he has three children, from 1987 to 2000.

Speaking about their divorce, Bruce said he felt he had failed as a father and husband by not being able to make the marriage work, but the pair are still close.

In 2004, he became engaged to actress Brooke Burns, but after 10 months they called off the engagement and separated.

He later married a British-American model Emma Heming41, at a Caribbean ceremony in 2009 with guests including his ex Demi and her then-husband Ashton Kutcher.

Now they are parents of two daughters aged 10 and eight.

Earlier this year, Bruce retired from acting career after diagnosis aphasiaa disease that affects the cognitive abilities of sufferers.

The announcement was made by his family, including Demi, on social media, acknowledging it was a “really difficult time”.

Alan Rickman – Hans Gruber

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The legendary British star was the ultimate villain in Die Hard and went on to play other bad guys in a number of films.

This was his debut on the big screen, and before that he appeared in several TV shows, including The Barchester Chronicles, and in stage shows.

He went on to appear in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, which won him a BAFTA, and as the evil Judge Turpin in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

He is perhaps best known for his role in Love really and how Severus Snape in Harry Potter film franchise, a role he held for 10 years.

Alan later won several other awards, including a Golden Globe, an Emmy, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

In 2006, he underwent a prostatectomy for an aggressive form of prostate cancer, but was still starring in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which began production in February of that year.

When Alan suffered a minor stroke in 2015, it led to a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. He only told his close friends that it was terminal.

He died in January 2016 at the age of 69, he is survived by his wife, Rima Horton.

Bonnie Bedelia as Holly Genera McClain

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Before Die Hard, Bonnie, now 74, had an acting career for 20 years, playing a number of roles in television and film.

Acting runs deep in her family – her brother is Keith Culkin, father of the Home Alone star. Macaulay Culkin and continuity of art Kieran Culkin.

After that, Bonnie starred in the films Presumed Innocent and The Necessary, and appeared as the lead character in the television dramas The Unit, Survivor and Parenthood.

She married screenwriter Ken Luber in 1969 and they had two sons before divorcing in 1980.

After another failed marriage to musician and screenwriter Jay Telfer, she married actor Michael McRae in 1995 and they have been together ever since.

Alexander Godunov – Karl Vresky

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One of the terrorists was played by the Russian-American star Alexander, who is a ballet dancer by education – and his own life reads like a movie script.

He was born in USSRhe fled to the United States in 1979 while on tour with the Bolshoi Theater Ballet in New York.

Finding him missing, KGB in response, he forced his wife Lyudmila Ulasava, who was also in the States, to board a plane back to Moscow.

The plane was brought to a screeching halt just before takeoff, which led to the involvement of the then President of the United States Jimmy Carter and Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev.

The investigation showed that Lyudmila decided to return to Moscow of her own free will, and she was allowed to leave.

Alexander went on to star in Runestone and Midnight, but was found dead at the age of 45 by a nurse at his home in May 1995.

An autopsy revealed that he died of chronic alcoholism and complications from hepatitis.

His first manager and ex-girlfriend Laurie Rodkin later stated that he “drank at least a bottle of vodka a day from the age of 14”.

Paul Gleeson

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For two years starting in 1976, Paul played Dr. David Thornton in All My Children before starring as a deputy police chief in Die Hard.

After the film, he had roles in TV shows such as Melrose Place and Seinfeld, and appeared in one episode of Friends.

His last role was in the movie Passing in 2011, where he played a police detective.

The film comes five years after his death in 2006 at the age of 67 from pleural mesothelioma, a form of cancer linked to asbestos.

He is believed to have been exposed to the chemical while working on construction sites as a teenager with his father.

Reginald WellJohnson – Al Powell

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After Die Hard, Reginald, 70, gained even more fame playing a Chicago cop on the hit TV show Family Matters.

When that ended, he landed roles in several other small screen series, including Mike and Molly and Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

Known for playing law enforcement officers, he recently reprized his role as David Sutton in the remake of Turner & Hooch, the buddy cop comedy series on Disney+.

Although he likes to keep his personal life to himself, there are rumors surrounding his sexuality that he has not clarified.

William Atherton – Richard Thornberg

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William’s role as Richard Thornberg in Die Hard remains one of his most memorable to date.

His other credits include Pelican Brief, The Crow Rescue, and The Last Samurai.

He has also starred in television series such as The Twilight Zone, Murder, She Wrote and Desperate Housewives.

He has been married to author Bobbi Goldin since 1980 and is a strong supporter of education.

During an appearance on The Phil Donahue Show in 1981, William said that he was once homosexual but changed because of aesthetic realism, a philosophy founded by Eli Siegel.

James Shigeta is Joseph Yoshinobu Takagi

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Before taking on the role of executive voice of Alan Rickman’s character in Die Hard, James was an accomplished singer, a career he began in 1950.

In the late 1950s, he began taking acting lessons after producers started offering him roles, eventually winning a Golden Globe for Best Actor in 1960.

After the film, he had minor roles in Beverly Hills 90210, The Killing, She Wrote, and Milan.

He died peacefully in his sleep at the age of 85 in California in July 2014.