A raffish performer whose relaxed style and working-class persona made him an indelible favorite during his star-making turn on the quirky detective series, “Moonlighting” (ABC, 1985-89), actor Bruce Willis used his cocky charm and insatiable will to become one of the biggest movie stars in the world. A surprisingly versatile performer, Willis hit his peak as an action hero during the late 1980s and early 1990s, especially as the star of the behemoth hit “Die Hard” (1988). Proving he was more than a one-note song, Willis put his acting chops on display as Butch, the washed-up pugilist in director Quentin Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction” (1994). His career hit a bumpy road, however, as he approached middle age – around the same time his fabled marriage to fellow A-lister Demi Moore came to an end. But Willis later reinvented himself as a lead of serious dramas, especially with an impressive turn as haunted psychiatrist Dr. Malcolm Crowe in director M. Night Shyamalan’s landmark thriller, “The Sixth Sense” (1999). Willis would continue his association with Shyamalan well into the next decade, refining his image as a venerable actor with true talent – and enough of a sense of humor to return to his “Die Hard,” once again starring as a middle-aged John McClain in “Live Free or Die Hard” (2007).The eldest of four children, Walter Bruce Willis was born on March 19, 1955, in Idar-Oberstein, West Germany, where his father was a welder serving in the U.S. military. The family later moved to Penns Grove, NJ, where Willis spent the remainder of his childhood. Nicknaming himself ‘Bruno’ to gain confidence, Willis quickly became a popular student; even going on to become student body president. Unfortunately, Willis’ political career went up in smoke his senior year when he was suspended for three months – allegedly for smoking pot. After toiling around New Jersey and working menial jobs following graduation – namely at a nearby DuPont chemical factory and as a security guard at a nuclear power plant – Willis decided to give acting a try. While taking classes at Montclair State College, the future star also began to play harmonica in a local blues band called the Loose Goose – a regular ritual which helped the fledgling musician overcome his natural stutter.
Willis broke through both professionally and personally with the school’s production of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” With the determination of someone who knew what he wanted to do with the rest of his life, Willis promptly dropped out of MSC at 19 and moved to New York City, NY to find acting work. In 1977, Willis landed his first stage gig with a role in an off-Broadway production of “Heaven and Earth.” But for the most part, he struggled to find acting work while paying the rent with bartending gigs at Chelsea Central and Kamikaze. Willis continued to perform in other off-Broadway roles and appeared briefly in films like “The First Deadly Sin” (1980) and “The Verdict” (1982), as well as occasionally landing guest spots on episodes of “Hart to Hart” (ABC, 1979-1984) and “Miami Vice” (NBC, 1984-89). During the wild 1980s – an era awash in booze and drugs – his devil-may-care bartender attitude fit in perfectly with the night owls of the Big Apple’s surreal after-hours swirl. And like many bartenders-by-night/thespians-by-day, Willis was also developing serious acting chops.
In 1984, his first big break came when he replaced Ed Harris in Sam Shepard's off-Broadway hit, "Fool for Love.” This led to an audition for "Desperately Seeking Susan" (1985) – the Susan Seidelman-helmed mistaken identity comedy starring Madonna and Rosanna Arquette. Though he failed to land the part, Willis stuck around Hollywood an extra day to read for what became a career-launching role – playing wisecracking private investigator David Addison on ABC’s wildly successful “Moonlighting.” Arriving to the audition in combat fatigues and sporting a punk haircut, he eventually beat out 3,000 other hopefuls because of his unconventional look and cocky attitude. Starring opposite a smug, but demure Cybill Shepherd, Willis possessed the charm of a young Jimmy Cagney. Before long, the hip dialogue-driven romantic comedy became one of the most inventive shows of the decade. Unfortunately, the show’s success also bred its share of personality conflicts. Widely publicized battles involving the two stars and show creator Glenn Gordon Caron resulted in production delays and numerous repeat episodes. But the behind-the-scenes tensions helped fuel the palpable onscreen sexual energy between Willis and Shepherd. The carnal edge to their rocky relationship was finally consummated at the end of the 1986-87 season – an event considered by many fans to be the moment when the series “jumped-the-shark.” Willis did, however, win an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama that same season.
After appearing in guest spots on several TV shows, in addition to starring in the series pilot for an updated incarnation of "The Twilight Zone" (CBS, 1985-87), Willis headlined his own music special, "The Return of Bruno" (HBO, 1987), a mockumentary highlighting fictional blues singer Bruno Radolini (Willis) and his band, The Heaters. From there, Willis landed starring roles in two uneven Blake Edwards’s comedies, "Blind Date" (1987) and "Sunset" (1988). The actor’s charming "Moonlighting" smirk notwithstanding, little of Willis’ small screen appeal translated to the big screen and he was pegged as just another fading television personality unable to make the transition into features. But when Hollywood super-agent Arnold Rifkin landed Willis the lead role in the action-film "Die Hard,” Willis was thrust into the big time. News broke that he would earn an unprecedented $5 million payday, raising a hue and cry throughout Hollywood that no actor with such trifling films credits should command such a substantial amount of money.
In hindsight, Willis’ salary was a bargain. The action thriller – about a New York cop (Willis) trapped in a corporate high-rise when a gang of terrorists hold employees hostage – spawned a franchise and launched Willis as an action-hero on par with the likes of Harrison Ford and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Willis' wise-guy machismo worked perfectly for the film’s hero, John McClane, leading him to reprise the role in the sequel "Die Hard II: Die Harder" (1990). Meanwhile, he supplied the voice of Mikey in the hit comedy "Look Who's Talking" (1989) and its limp follow-up "Look Who's Talking Too" (1990), then stretched his talents with a surprisingly good performance as the cynical, shell-shocked Vietnam veteran of "In Country" (1989). Willis went on to flex his acting muscles as the low-life murder victim in "Mortal Thoughts" (1991, opposite then-wife Demi Moore) and the hapless plastic surgeon in the horror comedy "Death Becomes Her" (1992) – occasional high points in the midst of some extraordinary disasters. Less successful were the abysmal "Bonfire of the Vanities" (1990) based on Tom Wolfe’s novel, the self-indulgent action flop "Hudson Hawk" (1991) – for which he co-wrote the story and theme song – as well as the box-office disappointments "Billy Bathgate" (1991) and "The Last Boy Scout" (1991), all of which threatened to permanently damage his career.
Once again, critics were wont to write Willis off, just as they did during his post-“Moonlighting” missteps. He defied them all, however, rebounding nicely with several off-beat roles that ran counter to his action hero persona. After spoofing himself in Robert Altman's Hollywood satire "The Player" (1992), he emerged as a prizefighter who refuses to take a dive in Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction" (1994). Though overshadowed by costar John Travolta’s sudden return to the limelight after his career had been pronounced dead, Willis nonetheless resuscitated himself in the film’s most memorable performance. He next starred in director Terry Gilliam’s sci-fi masterpiece "12 Monkeys" (1995), playing a time-traveling scientist whose self-sacrifice alters the course of the future for the betterment of mankind. Later that year, however, Willis suited up for a third go-round as John McClane opposite co-star Samuel L. Jackson in the underrated, “Die Hard with a Vengeance” (1995).
Willis’ collaboration with writer-director Walter Hill on "Last Man Standing" (1996), a remake of Akira Kurosawa's 1961 samurai masterpiece "Yojimbo," turned out to be a torturous affair. As the 1990s wore on, Willis comfortably wore the mantle of action hero – despite chafing at the garment's limitations – in such big-budgeted effects-laden efforts as Luc Besson's "The Fifth Element" (1997), which enjoyed a tremendous worldwide box office against meager US returns, and the blockbuster "Armageddon" (1998), which depicted him as an oil driller who sacrifices his life to save the world from a giant meteor. Around that same period, Willis attempted a change of pace with his first large-scale, villainous role as the titular mercenar