Bruce Willis Biography

Born in Germany at an Air-Force base this brat of a kid was always destined for superstardom. His parents moved to New Jersey when he was aged two. As a child Bruce discovered that he had a very bad stutter, but also found out that the stutter disappeared the moment he performed in front of people. Call it destiny, he was meant to perform in front of people. After High School Bruce picked up a job in a Chemical Factory but soon quit as he saw a co-worker die on the job. He enrolled himself in the Montclair State University in New Jersey in a Drama Program, but during his junior year he dropped out of college, packed his bags and moved to New York to become an actor.

In New York, to survive he waited tables and tended the bar along with auditioning for some Broadway plays. He managed to get a few good plays but nothing substantial came his way. Later he managed to land a bit role in’ The First Deadly Sin’ starring Frank Sinatra and one in ‘The Verdict’ starring Paul Newman. None of these roles turned into bigger roles and he kept trying. However in 1984 he auditioned for a television show opposite Cybil Shepherd called Moonlighting; it was a detective comedy series. He landed the part as he was perfect for playing a wise-cracking smart-ass detective as he carried a similar persona. The show was an instant hit with audience, especially Bruce’s character.

During this show Bruce landed his first starring role in a movie opposite Kim Basinger, the movie was ‘Blind Date’. Though the movie was not a major hit it gave Bruce exposure the celluloid world.

In his personal life he was dating his Moonlight co-star Cybil Shepherd, but it did not last long and they broke it off. At the movie premiere of ‘Stakeout’ Bruce met Demi Moore and started dating her, they later got married in 1987.

Marriage seemed to have brought Bruce good luck as a year after his marriage he landed the role of John McLane in the mega blockbuster hit’ Die Hard’. This movie catapulted him to overnight stardom and made him the hero of the masses. Die Hard went on to become the biggest hit of the year and smashed many Box-office records. Die hard spawned three sequels which also became blockbusters making the Die Hard franchise one of the most successful franchises of all time.

Bruce later lent his voice as ‘Mikey’ the little baby for the movie’ Look Who is Talking’. He starred in quite a few movies; some of them were successes while some of them were flops but in 1991 he came out with his most ambitious project till date ‘Hudson Hawk’, he had also co-written the film and had many expectations from it. But unfortunately the movie bombed big time and became one of the worst flops of all time. Bruce then followed it up with a string of duds which almost ended his career. Things were looking bleak for him.

Just when it looked like the sun was about to set on Bruce’s career he starred as ‘Butch’ the boxer in the cult hit ‘Pulp Fiction’ directed by Quentin Tarantino. The movie was a major success and revived the careers of many other stars like John Travolta.

Although all the Die Hard movies were hits, Bruce was still missing that second major hit film he required. He found that film in ‘The Sixth Sense’ directed by Manoj Night Shyamalan. The film hit the right note with the audience and critics alike and went on to become a blockbuster. He teamed up with Shyamalan again for the second time coming out with ‘Unbreakable’. Though the critics panned the movie, the audience thronged to the theatres making it a second hit for the director-actor duo. Bruce continued to play different roles, but a new role was on the horizon; that of a Producer. Bruce starred in and produced ‘True West’; sadly the movie did not succeed, but this did not deter Bruce from trying his hand at production.

In the late 2000’s Bruce starred in quite a few major films; all of them hits. He also reprised his role as the trash-talking cop John McLane in Die Hard 4.0: Live free or Die Hard directed by Len Wiseman. In February 2010 he promised fans that he would return as John McLane in the fifth installment of the movies.

On the personal front Bruce’s 13 year marriage to Demi Moore ended in October 2000, they gave no public reason for their split. Together they had three daughters of whom they share custody. Bruce was later engaged to Brooke Burns, but they later broke up in 2004 after ten months together. Bruce is currently married to Emma Hemming.