His name has become almost a household word and means for many the image of the indestructible and charming American lone hero, who with jokes will find a way out of any hopeless situation and at the same time save humanity.
Bruce Willis, whose biography is full of movie roles of this kind, starred in a large number of blockbusters that made a profit only from the sale of tickets in the amount of more than $ 2.5 billion. But at the beginning of the path of one of
the highest-paid Hollywood
actors, not everything was easy and cloudless.
German American
On March 19, 1956, in the West German town of Idar-Oberstein, the first-born - Walter Bruce Willis, was born in the family of American military man David Willis and German Marlene. The biography of the future movie star continued in the United States, where the family moved two years later, when David's contract expired.
In the town of Point Carney, in New Jersey, where the Willis settled, they had two more sons and a daughter, and the head of the family had to work hard to feed a large family. He was a typical blue-collar worker - a “blue collar” - and worked at the factory, so there was no extra money in the family. The fact that you should not shy away from any work, early learned and young Bruce Willis. His biography began with the help of his father in providing for his family: already at school, he worked as a loader, a janitor in a hotel, etc.
Tank-tank
In childhood, Bruce monstrously stuttered - when answering at the blackboard he was worried and could not connect a couple of words. Classmates nicknamed him Buck-Bak, but were afraid of teasing - Bruce was not a pay-boy and constantly got into fights. “It was easier for me to explain with the help of fists,” - said Bruce Willis. The biography of the actor began as a means of combating stuttering - it turned out that, portraying someone, Bruce miraculously got rid of his defect.
At the age of 14, he asked for a role in a school play and gradually became interested in theater, becoming the head of a drama circle. There was also confidence that the acting profession was his vocation. But two years after graduation, before he took his first steps along this path. He worked as a security guard at a power plant in New Jersey, a driver at a chemical plant in Dupont Corporation. For some time he was even a private detective, but soon became a student in the drama department of Monteclair State University in New Jersey.
New York
The period of education was short - at 25 he moved to New York. The next 5 years, Willis calls the craziest in his life: hoping for the occasion, participating in hundreds of auditions, he often remained completely without money. I had to get a waiter at the Kamikaze Club restaurant. But here, not everything was smooth - he confused orders, stepped on the guests' feet and - like an apotheosis - dropped a full tray on the client’s head. The administration made a wise move - put Willis at the counter, and he became a bartender. Here the witty and charming young actor was in his place. Entertaining customers with not always decent jokes, masterfully handling bottles and glasses, he became a local attraction.
It was then that he caught the eye of one assistant casting director, who invited him to the role of a bartender in one of the productions. Gradually, a young actor named Bruce Willis was remembered at the studios. Films in which he participated at that time - “The First Deadly Sin” (1980), “Verdict” (1982) - did not create him fame, his name was not even mentioned in the credits. In the mid-80s, he took another risky and decisive step - moving closer to Hollywood, in Los Angeles.
Lucky case
At first, Bruce was busy only in minor roles on television, but then, in 1985, an incredibly happy event occurred. He was the last of more than three hundred applicants to select an actor for a leading role in the television series Detective Agency Moonlight. Nevertheless, the role of the cheerful and resourceful private detective David Addison, partner of the hostess and director of the agency Meddy Haze, played by a real star - Sybill Shepherd, was given to Bruce Willis. The films in which he played a private detective also happened later, but this role seemed created specifically for him and became the beginning of a brilliant career.
“I played myself,” said Willis later. He did not have to pretend much to be a cheerful young man seeking to enjoy his life. For four seasons, he made himself the name of a brilliant comedian, fell in love with millions of viewers and ... became a millionaire.
Die Hard (1988)
In 1987, important changes took place in the personal life of the actor - he marries. Demi Moore and Bruce Willis have been married for thirteen years and have given birth to three daughters. Willis is proud of his paternity no less than an acting career. In family life with Demi had enough problems, but even after the divorce, they remained good friends.
After several comedic works - “The Return of Bruno” (1987), “Blind Date” (1987) - a significant event takes place in Willis’s career: he got the role of John MacLane in Die Hard. Although in the film he demonstrates “corporate” wit, he is far from a comedic character, and the actor, when he embodied a lone hero, was no less convincing.
Initially, this scenario was created as a continuation of the Commando action movie with Arnold Schwarzenegger, then the role of MacLane was proposed to Sylvester Stallone. It is probably good that the protagonist was not a taciturn mountain of muscles, although Willis showed excellent physical shape, and the height of Bruce Willis - 183 cm - does not seem unimpressive. But the main ones turned out to be the warmth of the human face of the policeman hero and the reliability of the reasons that prompted him to perform incredible feats. This image became decisive for Willis’s successful film career, which was confirmed to varying degrees by four more sequels of Die Hard.
Roles passing and cult
Over the next time, Willis could allow himself to participate in films that were not particularly worthy of the attention of critics and spectators - such as the erotic thriller Color of the Night (1993) or Deadly Thoughts (1991), where the then wife of Bruce Willis, Demi, played Moore. But there were genuine masterpieces, where the actor shows, in addition to incredible charisma, and his impressive acting talent.
Willis confirmed the status of one of the best heroes of the militants in The Last Boy Scout (1994), in the sequels of Die Hard (1990, 1995, 2007, 2013), in the brilliant Fifth Element (1997) and in the grim Jackal (1997) ) In addition, there were a masterpiece of black humor “Death to her face” (1992), the cult “Pulp Fiction” (1994), a bizarre and multifaceted film “12 Monkeys” (1995), a subtle and unexpected picture “The Sixth Sense” (1999), the light and virtuoso Nine Yards (1999) and the equally iconic Sin City (2005).
Willis is organic both in the ridiculous “cranberry” scale of “Armageddon” (1998), and in the episodic role in the sitcom “Friends” (2000), and in the ironic “RED” (2010) - he has accounted for more than 90 films.
Actor, producer, musician and father
The current wife of Bruce Willis, Emma Hemig, is 23 years younger than him and recently gave birth to two more daughters - Mabel Ray (2012) and Evelyn Penn (2014). He maintained friendly relations with his former wife Demi Moore and with their common daughters - Rumer Glenn (1988), Scout LaRoux (1991) and Talula Belle (1994).
Children of Bruce Willis - the most important component of his life, which is now filled to the limit with work and emotions. In addition to new projects, where he participates both as an actor and as a producer, he plays rock and roll with friends in the Accelerate team, releases country solo albums, and enters the stage in a Broadway production according to Stephen King.
Among his loyal fans, not only adults, but also children - Bruce Willis are often invited to voice animated films (Forest Brothers, 2006). The excellent physical form of Bruce and the natural optimism of the famous actor give hope for the upcoming meetings with his new works.