Walter Bruce Willis, professionally known as Bruce Willis, is an actor who was on March 19, 1955, in Idar-Oberstein, West Germany where his family was stationed at the time at an American military base. He has gained widespread recognition as an American actor, with a special focus on his roles in high-grossing action movies, especially the Die Hard series.
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Who Is Bruce Willis?
Bruce Willis catapulted to fame after his portrayal of detective David Addison in the popular 1980s television series Moonlighting. He solidified his status as a movie star with his leading role in the action-packed hit film Die Hard in 1988. His subsequent performances in successful movies, including Pulp Fiction and The Sixth Sense, along with his marriage to actress Demi Moore, ensured his place as one of the most recognizable actors of his era. Some of his recent movies include The Expendables, Red, and Moonrise Kingdom.
Early Life
Walter Bruce Willis was born on March 19, 1955, in Idar-Oberstein, West Germany, while his father was serving in the U.S. military. He is the eldest of David and Marlene Willis’s four children, comprising of three sons and a daughter. After his father’s military service ended, the family relocated to Carney’s Point, New Jersey in 1957.
During this time, Willis observed his father’s occupation as a welder and subsequently as a factory worker, which planted the roots for the gritty, working-class persona that has become synonymous with many of Willis’ characters.
According to reports, Willis was well-liked among his peers and nicknamed “Bruno”; he had a great sense of humor during his youth. He was even elected as the Student Council President during his high school days. Though he enjoyed practical jokes and sometimes found himself in minor scrapes, he also harbored a gentler side that revolved around his fascination with the theatre and performing arts. Surprisingly, he discovered his passion for the stage while combating a stutter that disappeared as soon as he started performing in front of larger audiences.
Early Career
After graduating from high school, Willis followed in his dad’s footsteps and found work with his hands, first in a chemical factory and then as a security guard, before returning to the classroom as a drama student at Montclair State University in New Jersey. Willis’ interest in acting didn’t wane, but eager to strike out on his own, he quit school after his sophomore year and moved to New York City to try and make it as a working actor.
Although Willis looked up to acting greats such as Robert De Niro, Gary Cooper, Steve McQueen, and John Wayne, he had to put in a lot of effort to pursue his own acting career. He worked a range of jobs, including waiting tables and tending bar, all while continuing to audition for potential roles. His first significant break arrived in 1977 when he made his debut in the off-Broadway production of Heaven and Earth.
Willis continued to focus on stage work, but in 1980, he made his move to the film industry with a small part in The First Deadly Sin, a movie featuring Frank Sinatra. He received another minor role in The Verdict, starring Paul Newman, two years later. Willis also appeared on a few episodes of Hart to Hart and Miami Vice, gaining some exposure on television.
Wife and Children
Willis and actress Demi Moore got married in 1987, and during their 13-year marriage, they had three children: Rumer Willis (born 1988), Scout LaRue Willis (born 1991), and Tallulah Belle Willis (born 1994). The couple divorced in 2000.
Despite their divorce in 2000, the couple has remained close (he attended her wedding to Ashton Kutcher in 2005) and shares custody of their children.
In 2009, Willis surprised fans by marrying model-actress Emma Heming in a private ceremony on the Turks and Caicos Islands. The couple later held a civil ceremony at Willis’ home in California. They have two daughters together, Mabel Ray (born 2012) and Evelyn Penn (born 2014).
Movies and TV Shows
After stepping in for Ed Harris in the off-Broadway sensation Fool for Love in 1984, Willis moved to Hollywood to audition for the Madonna film Desperately Seeking Susan. Although he was unsuccessful in landing the role, he made a wise decision by remaining in Hollywood for an extra day to try out for a new romantic comedy series called Moonlighting, which was set to premiere in March of the following year.
‘Moonlighting’
According to reports, Willis donned a punk haircut and dressed in combat fatigues to audition for the part of David Addison, a sarcastic private detective, in the romantic comedy series Moonlighting. With his affable personality and charming demeanor, he impressed the TV executives and outshone around 3,000 other actors vying for the role.
Moonlighting, a series that featured the detective work of Maddie Hayes (played by Cybill Shepherd) and David Addison (played by Willis), was a major success for ABC and a crucial stepping stone for Willis. The show ran until May 1989 and was acclaimed for its witty dialogue and the charming chemistry between the two leads. According to ABC talent vice president Gary Pudney, Willis quickly became a valuable asset to the network due to his immense popularity, with women finding him attractive and men envisioning themselves in his role.
‘Blind Date’
Following his success on Moonlighting, Willis returned to film in 1987, co-starring with Kim Basinger in the comedy Blind Date. That year, he also tied the knot with fellow actor Demi Moore.
Around the time of Blind Date’s release, Willis, who is an enthusiastic fan of blues music and plays the harmonica, recorded a collection of bluesy soul songs for Motown Records called Return to Bruno. Although the album did not generate high sales, it marked Willis’s first foray into music.
‘Die Hard’
During the summer of 1988, the highly anticipated action movie Die Hard was released, starring Willis as the muscular hero John McClane. Prior to its release, the film had already garnered attention, in part due to the fact that both Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger had turned down the lead role.
Despite his relatively inexperienced Hollywood status, Willis won the role because of his warmth and humor, and was paid a whopping $5 million. With Willis performing his own stunts and delivering memorable one-liners, Die Hard earned a whopping $81 million at the domestic box office, and became the first of a franchise that has so far spawned four sequels. This was only the beginning for Willis, who has since starred in films with a combined ticket sales of more than $3 billion.
A year after Die Hard, Willis was back in the comedic role of Mikey, the observant baby in Look Who’s Talking. In 1990, his portrayal of an English tabloid journalist in Bonfire of the Vanities received mixed reviews, and his 1991 vanity project, the action movie Hudson Hawk, which he wrote and starred in, was a commercial failure. This was followed by other less memorable projects.
‘Pulp Fiction,’ ‘Armageddon’ and ‘The Sixth Sense’
Willis had a resurgence of his career in 1994 when he portrayed the character of Butch Coolidge, a weathered boxer, in the highly successful Quentin Tarantino-directed film Pulp Fiction. Anticipating the success of the film, Willis accepted a modest salary of $1,685 per week in exchange for a percentage of the profits, which turned out to be a smart decision as the film grossed over $100 million.
Following Pulp Fiction, Willis enjoyed a string of successful movies, including the third installment of the Die Hard franchise, Die Hard: With a Vengeance (1995), and the 1998 science fiction thriller Armageddon. In 1999, he gave a notable performance as child psychologist Dr. Malcolm Crowe in M. Night Shyamalan’s The Sixth Sense, and the following year, he worked with Shyamalan again on the superhero film Unbreakable. In addition to his dramatic roles, Willis also continued to appear in comedies, such as The Whole Nine Yards, and made numerous TV appearances on shows like Ally McBeal, Mad About You, and Friends.
‘Sin City,’ ‘Moonrise Kingdom’ and ‘The Expendables’
Willis continued to work at a steady pace, showcasing his versatility in roles that ranged from intimidating tough guy (Sin City, Red) to sharp comedian (The Whole Ten Yards) to a more sensitive, nuanced approach (Moonrise Kingdom), a rare combination of skills in the acting world.
In 2010, Willis joined forces with other action movie icons, including Stallone and Schwarzenegger, for The Expendables. The film was a major success, and Willis returned for the sequel, The Expendables 2, in 2012. The movie quickly climbed to the top of the box office, grossing nearly $28.6 million in just one week.
Following his success in The Expendables 2, Willis continued to appear in various films, including the sci-fi thriller Looper (2012) as an older version of Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s character. He also returned to some of his earlier roles in A Good Day to Die Hard (2013), Red 2 (2013) and Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (2014). Additionally, while maintaining a busy schedule on screen, Willis made his Broadway debut in 2015, starring in a stage adaptation of Stephen King’s Misery.
Following his tough-guy performances in earlier films, Willis returned to a similar role in subsequent movies, such as Once Upon a Time in Venice (2017), Acts of Violence (2018), and a remake of Death Wish (2018), as well as Reprisal (2018). In 2018, Willis was the target of jokes at a Comedy Central roast, which included his ex-wife Moore among the comedians.
In 2019, the busy actor reprised one of his earlier characters in the Unbreakable sequel Glass, and lent his voice to The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part.
Bruce Willis (Aphasia to Dementia)
In January 2023, Bruce Willis’ family members have reported that his previous diagnosis of aphasia has developed into frontotemporal dementia, as per a statement shared by his daughter Rumer Willis.
According to the statement, Bruce has been diagnosed with the most prevalent type of dementia, known as FTD.
The family says “Since we announced Bruce’s diagnosis of aphasia in spring 2022, Bruce’s condition has progressed and we now have a more specific diagnosis: frontotemporal dementia (known as FTD). Unfortunately, challenges with communication are just one symptom of the disease Bruce faces. While this is painful, it is a relief to finally have a clear diagnosis.“