Bruce Willis

Bruce Willis biography

Burly, thick-featured, and balding, Bruce Willis looks as if he would be perfectly at home behind the wheel of an 18-wheeler. Instead, he is one of Hollywood's more popular action heroes, thanks in part to the success of the Die Hard series. But to peg Willis into such a narrow category is to deny his versatility, for he has proven himself at home in lead and supporting roles in dramas, comedies, romances, and adventures. Though he was born on an American military base in West Germany on March 19, 1955, Willis was raised in New Jersey from the age of two. As a youth, Willis had a stammer that only disappeared when he was performing, something he continued to do during high school as the class clown. He had less to laugh about after his participation in a racial incident during his senior year that got him expelled until his father hired a lawyer and Willis was allowed to graduate. After his graduation, Willis worked several odd jobs and played the harmonica for a local blues band by the name of Loose Goose. While attending Montclair State College, he performed in a production of Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and his love of acting blossomed. He spent much time in New York trying out for various off-Broadway productions, finally succeeding in 1977. He left school to work in the play Heaven on Earth, but his subsequent acting career was spotty, with a commercial here and a small theatrical role there.

However, in 1984 he landed the lead in an off-Broadway production of Fool for Love and then, during a trip to Los Angeles, was selected out of 3,000 auditioners to co-star in Cybill Shepherd's romantic sitcom Moonlighting as the egotistical, self-assured private detective David Addison. Though the show experienced trouble behind the scenes, in large part due to a long-running conflict between Willis, Shepherd, and the show's creator, Glenn Gordon Caron, it was a major hit during most of its 1985-1989 run. In the early '80s, Willis had bit parts in two major features, but did not make his official big-screen debut until he starred opposite Kim Basinger in the Blake Edwards farce Blind Date (1987). He again worked with Edwards for his sophomore effort playing cowboy star Tom Mix opposite James Garner's Wyatt Earp in the Western spoof Sunset (1988). Both films reaped modest profits, but did little in the way of making Willis a major star.

Then came Die Hard (1989), in which Willis played a low-key New York cop who ingeniously takes on a group of international terrorists who have taken hostage the corporate L.A. office where his estranged wife is attending a Christmas party. The movie was slick, fast-paced, and filled with amazing stunts. Its tremendous popularity put Willis on Hollywood's A-list, and naturally suggested that Willis would have followed up his success with another blockbuster, but he instead appeared in Norman Jewison's drama In Country as a psychologically damaged Vietnam vet who must care for his orphaned niece. Willis next lent his vocal talents to the voice of the baby in the inventive comedy Look Who's Talking (1989) and its sequel, Look Who's Talking Too (1990). He went on to reprise his role as a cop in both Die Hard sequels. In 1991, he made his screenwriting debut for the much-panned Hudson Hawk. Since then, his film career has continued to be prolific but uneven, with lows such as The Color of Night (1994) and Four Rooms (1995) and highs such as Pulp Fiction (1994) and 12 Monkeys (1995). In 1998, Willis' reputation as an action hero was reinforced with the big-budget, big-box office Armageddon, but following this success, Willis opted for a smaller project, this time in the form of the long-delayed production of Kurt Vonnegut's Breakfast of Champions (1999). Though Breakfast failed to live up to the expectations likely imposed by comparisons to Kurt Vonnegut's source material and remained largely unseen, it was Willis' next small project that would find him, as well as a relatively unknown child actor named Haley Joel Osment, in what would become a phenomenally successful sleeper-hit in box-office history. As a haunted child psychologist who reaches out to a troubled young boy harboring a terrifying secret, Willis brought a subtle compassion to his role in newcomer director M. Night Shymalan's The Sixth Sense that audiences may have been sorely missing (sans his performance in Disney's The Kid as he cemented his stature as a tough-guy action icon. He continued the trend the next year, as he re-teamed with Shymalan for the similarly eerie and enthralling, yet sensitive Unbreakable. The following year found the star appearing alongside Hollywood eccentric Billy Bob Thornton in the popular crime/\|comedy flick Bandits.

Increasingly drawn to the porduction aspect of filmmaking, Willis continued to develope his skills behind the camera as producer of such features as The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course (2002) and Hostage (2004). Turning up in such military themed features as Hart's War (2002) and Tears of the Sun (2003) in the early years of the new millennium, Willis would next step back into the role of hit man Jimmy 'The Tuip' Tudeski for the comedy sequel The Whole Ten Yards.

In addition to acting, Willis has recorded a music CD, produced movies and a children's animated show, and taken part in the Planet Hollywood venture. Willis was married to actress Demi Moore from 1987 until 1998. They have three children.

Trivia

Memorial Day weekend, 1987: Was arrested after reportedly disturbing the peace and assaulting a police officer who was called to quiet a raucous party at his home. The charges were dropped after Willis agreed to apologize to his neighbors. According to friends, he had a terrible stammer as a child. Younger brother Robert died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 42. [2001] Was originally cast as Terry Benedict in Ocean's Eleven (2001) but dropped out. Attended Montclair State University in Montclair, New Jersey. Set a new benchmark for actors' salaries when he was paid $5 million for Die Hard (1988) in 1988. Eight years later, his wife, Demi Moore, set a benchmark of 12 million with Striptease (1996). His ineptness as a waiter forced him to become a bartender. Was named Man of the Year by Harvard University's Hasty Pudding Theatricals. [February 2002] Was born on a military base in Germany. Was president of a drama club at school. Worked in a chemical factory before going to college.

Quote

"Mostly weight resistance training, almost an hour of cardio at least three times a week. I have a gym in my house in Los Angeles and a gym trailer that I can take on the road with me when I'm on location. At my house there's a very long steep driveway. I do wind sprints that kick my 50-year-old ass. It's part of my job. I have come to associate working out as work. Whenever I don't have to do it for films, I kind of slack off." - On what he does to stay in shape. (2005) I am a sensitive guy. People think they know the real me, but they don't. And then they write things that make me sound like such a jerk. I hate working out. I work out for films solely. I associate working out with films. As soon as they stop, I stop working out.