“It takes place on Christmas”: Zooey Deschanel on Die Hard

Actress Zooey Deschanel, best known for her role in the holiday favorite Elf, has shared her take on the perennial question: Is Die Hard a Christmas movie? While opinions vary among fans, Deschanel is clear in her stance, she believes it does qualify as a Christmas movie, largely because of when and how the story unfolds.

Deschanel made her comments while promoting her latest Christmas-themed romantic comedy, Merv, in which she stars opposite Charlie Cox. Asked about Die Hard, the 45-year-old actress didn’t hesitate to weigh in.

“It is,” Deschanel said when asked whether Die Hard should be considered a Christmas movie. “It takes place on Christmas.”

She went on to explain that while Die Hard doesn’t include the traditional magical or fantastical elements often associated with holiday films, like Santa or elves, Christmas still plays an important role as a backdrop to the story.

“And maybe it’s not like Elf or something, where there’s a magical creature or a magical person or whatever at the center of the film, so it doesn’t have that, like, super Christmas forward element, but it has Christmas in the background,” Deschanel added, emphasizing that the holiday setting is integral to the movie’s narrative.

Her view aligns with fans who celebrate Die Hard as part of their holiday movie traditions, even if others, including Bruce Willis, have famously disagreed in the past. The debate has become a seasonal ritual for many movie lovers, but Deschanel’s comments reflect the perspective that a film’s holiday setting is enough to classify it as a Christmas movie.