American actor Bruce Willis began his career in 1980 with an uncredited role in The First Deadly Sin. After guest-starring in a 1984 episode of Miami Vice, he appeared in the first episode of the 1985 revival of The Twilight Zone. Willis achieved fame starring in the ABC comedy-drama series Moonlighting (1985–1989), for which he received three Golden Globe nominations for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy and two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. In 1988, he starred as John McClane in Die Hard (1988), a film that spawned four sequels that earned him international recognition as an action hero.

In the following years, Willis lent his voice for the video game Apocalypse (1998), the comedy film Look Who's Talking (1989), and its sequel Look Who's Talking Too (1990). In 1991, he conceived the story for Hudson Hawk and appeared in The Last Boy Scout alongside Damon Wayans, which earned a cult following and a nomination for the MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Duo. Willis's additional credits include: Death Becomes Her (1992), Pulp Fiction (1994), 12 Monkeys (1995), The Fifth Element, The Jackal (both 1997), Armageddon and The Siege (both 1998). In 1999, he starred as Dr. Malcolm Crowe in the critically acclaimed The Sixth Sense, which became his highest-grossing film. His guest appearance on Friends in 2000 earned him his third Emmy nomination, this time for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series. After appearing in Sin City (2005) and voicing the lead character in the animated film Over the Hedge (2006), he starred in Red and made a cameo appearance in The Expendables (both 2010).

By the 2010s, Willis began starring in numerous direct-to-video films that received mostly negative reviews from critics and moviegoers. From The New York Times, Elisabeth Vincentelli analyzed several of his films and found that they generally lacked substance, with action sequences replacing "any attempts at coming up with decent plots", and featured Willis for an average of 15 minutes. Willis also starred in the 2012 films Moonrise Kingdom, The Expendables 2, and Looper. In 2013, he made an appearance as the title character in G.I. Joe: Retaliation and hosted Saturday Night Live. Willis was also known for collaborating with filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan on The Sixth Sense and the Eastrail 177 Trilogy, consisting of Unbreakable (2000), Split (2016), and Glass (2019). In March 2022, Willis's family announced his retirement after he was diagnosed with aphasia, a diagnosis revised almost a year later to frontotemporal dementia. The films that Willis starred in throughout his career grossed over US$5 billion collectively worldwide, making him one of the highest-grossing actors in the world.

Film

+ Year Title Role Notes 1980 Man entering diner Uncredited 1982 Courtroom observer 1987 Blind Date 1988 Sunset Die Hard 1989 In Country Look Who's Talking Voice role 1990 That's Adequate HimselfThe New York Times Die Hard 2 Look Who's Talking Too Voice role 1991 Mortal Thoughts Hudson Hawk Also story writer Billy Bathgate 1992 Himself Cameo Death Becomes Her 1993 Loaded Weapon 1 Uncredited cameo Striking Distance 1994 Pulp Fiction North Narrator and benevolent advisors Color of Night Nobody's Fool 1995 Die Hard with a Vengeance Four Rooms Leo Uncredited; segment: "The Man from Hollywood" 1996 Last Man Standing Beavis and Butt-Head Do America Voice role 1997 Broadway Brawler Eddie Kapinsky Also producer; cancelled in production 1998 Mercury Rising Armageddon 1999 Breakfast of Champions 2000 Unbreakable 2001 Bandits 2002 Hart's War Grand Champion Executive producer 2003 Tears of the Sun Rugrats Go Wild Spike Voice role Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle Uncredited 2004 Ocean's Twelve Himself Cameo 2005 Hostage Also producer Sin City Segment: That Yellow Bastard 2006 Alpha Dog Lucky Number Slevin Over the Hedge RJ Voice role Fast Food Nation Uncredited Hammy's Boomerang Adventure RJ Voice role; short film Himself Also executive producer; documentary film 2007 Perfect Stranger Planet Terror Live Free or Die Hard Nancy Drew Himself Uncredited cameo 2008 Assassination of a High School President Direct-to-video What Just Happened Himself 2009 Surrogates 2010 Cop Out Uncredited cameo I'm Still Here Himself Mockumentary Red 2011 Short film Setup Biggs Direct-to-video Catch .44 Mel 2012 Lay the Favorite Moonrise Kingdom Looper Fire with Fire Direct-to-video 2013 G.I. Joe: Retaliation Red 2 2014 Sin City: A Dame to Kill For Omar Direct-to-video 2015 Vice Rock the Kasbah Extraction Direct-to-video 2016 Precious Cargo Marauders Split Uncredited cameo 2017 Once Upon a Time in Venice First Kill Direct-to-video 2018 Acts of Violence Death Wish Reprisal James Direct-to-video Air Strike 2019 Glass Himself Voice cameo Motherless Brooklyn Rex Trauma Center 2020 Survive the Night Hard Kill Breach 2021 Cosmic Sin Out of Death Midnight in the Switchgrass Survive the Game Apex Deadlock Fortress 2022 American Siege Gasoline Alley Alston Corrective Measures Fortress: Sniper's Eye Vendetta White Elephant Wrong Place Wire Room Detective Knight: Rogue Paradise City Detective Knight: Redemption 2023 Detective Knight: IndependenceAssassin Valmora

Television + Year Title Role Notes 1980 Extra Uncredited; television film 1984 Miami Vice Episode: "No Exit" 1985–1989 Moonlighting Main role 1985 Segment: "Shatterday" 1987 Also writer and executive producer; television film 1989 Roseanne Himself Uncredited cameo; episode: "Dear Mom and Dad" 1989; 2013 Saturday Night Live Himself (host) 2 episodes 1996–1997 Bruno the Kid Bruno the Kid Voice role; also developer and executive producer 1997 Mad About You Himself Episode: "The Birth Part 2" 1999 Ally McBeal Episode: "Love Unlimited" 2000 Friends 3 episodes 2004 Touching Evil Executive producer; 12 episodes 2005 That '70s Show Vic Episode: "Misfire" 2018 Comedy Central Roast Himself Television special Bumping Mics with Jeff Ross & Dave Attell Episode: "Friday" 2019 Groogen Uncredited voice role; episode: "Deflectors"

Broadway + + Year Title Role Notes 1984–1985; 1997 Fool for Love Eddie Understudy (1st version); Also producer (2nd version) 2002 True West Lee Also executive producer; Filmed broadway play 2015–2016 Paul Sheldon 102 performances 2017 Must Producer only 2021 My Mother's Severed Head

Music videos + Year Title Role Artist 1986 Bruno Himself 2010 Assassin Gorillaz

Video games + Year Title Role Notes 1998 Korben Dallas Voice role and likeness Trey Kincaid 2021 John McClane Archive audio and likeness

See also List of awards and nominations received by Bruce Willis

References

External links