Die Hard 3 robbery scene is so good it worried the FBI!

The Die Hard movies have cemented their place as some of the best action films ever, delivering edge-of-your-seat thrills and cinematic chaos. And when it comes to the third installment, Die Hard With a Vengeance, one particular scene took things to a whole new level of realism—so much so that it caught the attention of the FBI.

In this ‘90s classic, there’s an intense sequence where the villain, played by Jeremy Irons, plans a massive gold heist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, which houses thousands of tons of gold. The level of detail in this robbery was so spot-on that it left authorities concerned.

Jonathan Hensleigh, the screenwriter, shared during the movie’s DVD commentary that after the script was vetted by the NYPD, the FBI gave him a call. They were baffled by how accurately he had depicted the Federal Reserve’s vaults and the logistics of accessing them—especially how close the vaults were to a subway line, and the potential use of an aqueduct tunnel in Manhattan for the heist.

According to Hensleigh, his knowledge wasn’t some secret inside info. The team had actually been shown the vaults by Federal Reserve officials, who gave them a tour. As for the aqueduct tunnel, he’d simply read about it in The New York Times Sunday Magazine. He jokingly reassured the FBI that he wasn’t working with any terrorist groups—he was just really good at his research!

Although Hensleigh’s explanations cleared things up, the FBI was so alarmed by the plausibility of the heist that they convened a meeting to ensure something like that couldn’t actually happen in real life. So, not only did Die Hard With a Vengeance deliver an epic movie moment, but it also came a little too close to reality for comfort!