Bruce Willis plays an assassin in 'The Whole Nine Yards' |
About Bruce Willis - Bruce Willis 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 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 troubled
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 1985-89 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.
Bruce Willis plays Detective John McClane in 'Die Hard' |
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).
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.
Filmography
The Bone Collector/Mercury Rising (2000)
Disney's The Kid (2000)
Unbreakable (2000)
The Whole Nine Yards (2000)
Breakfast of Champions (1999)
The Sixth Sense (1999)
The Story of Us (1999)
Armageddon (1998)
Mercury Rising (1998)
The Siege (1998)
The Fifth Element (1997)
The Jackal (1997)
Bruno the Kid: The Last Christmas (1996)
Last Man Standing (1996)
12 Monkeys (1995)
Die Hard With a Vengeance (1995)
Four Rooms (1995)
Color of Night (1994)
Nobody's Fool (1994)
North (1994)
Pulp Fiction (1994)
National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1 (1993)
Striking Distance (1993)
Death Becomes Her (1992)
The Player (1992)
Billy Bathgate (1991)
Hudson Hawk (1991)
The Last Boy Scout (1991)
Look Who's Talking Too (1991)
Mortal Thoughts (1991)
Bonfire of the Vanities (1990)
Die Hard 2: Die Harder (1990)
In Country (1989)
Look Who's Talking (1989)
That's Adequate (1989)
Die Hard (1988)
Sunset (1988)
Blind Date (1987)
Bruce Willis - The Return of Bruno (1987)
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