The high-energy, fast-talking characters portrayed by Bruce Willis might have been created by Damon Runyon or Raymond Chandler. This is all the more remarkable, considering that Bruce Willis had to overcome a problem with stuttering. He was born in West Germany, where his father was stationed, but the family soon moved to Carney's Point in southern New Jersey.
After high school, Bruce Willis held a variety of jobs (such as security guard and truck driver) before enrolling in Montclair State College, where he appeared as Brick in the Tennessee Williams play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. In 1976, he made his professional acting debut in an Off-Off Broadway production of Heaven and Earth.
His first break came in 1984 when he replaced the lead in the Off-Broadway production of Sam Shepard's Fool for Love. Later that year, he was lucky (or talented) enough to beat 3,000 competitors in auditioning for the role of David Addison on the hit television series, Moonlighting, which defined his initial popularity, as evidenced by an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award.
He was fortunate to be cast opposite Cybill Shepherd, which provided an appealing chemistry unusual for television, resembling the goodnatured bickering of William Powell and Myrna Loy in the movies. This star-driven series was famous for its innovations and fast dialogue.
After appearing in Blind Date (1987) and Sunset (1988), both directed by Blake Edwards, Bruce Willis was cast in Die Hard (1988), one of the highest-grossing blockbusters of the year. Sequels would follow, but Bruce Willis avoided being typecast as a macho maverick action hero like Schwarzenegger or Stallone by appearing as the traumatized Vietnam War veteran in the film adaptation of Bobbie Ann Mason's novel In Country (1989).
In 1991 he played the lead in the cult comedy-adventure Hudson Hawk (with Danny Aiello and Andie MacDowell). The same year, he was also in Mortal Thoughts and Billy Bathgate, a prestigious picture adapted by Tom Stoppard from the E. L. Doctorow novel.
Other prestigious projects included Robert Altman's The Player (1992) and a memorable role in Quentin Tarantinp's Pulp Fiction (1994). Drawn to the offbeat, he starred in Luc Besson's The Fifth Element (1997), Terry Gilliam's Twelve Monkeys (1995, a remake of Chris Marker's La Jetée), and Last Man Standing. Bruce Willis also appeared in The Jackal (1997), Armageddon (1998), the hit The Sixth Sense (1999), The Whole Nine Yards (2000), Unbreakable (2000), and Tears of the Sun (2003).
Our website is not responsible for the information contained by this article. Articleinput.com is a free articles resource thus practically any visitor can submit an article. However if you notice any copyrighted material, please contact us and we will remove the article(s) in discussion right away.
Note: This article was sent to us by: Carrie Ordess at 11132010
1. Abbot and Costello were very popular during the sound era
All articles are property of their respective authors. Please read our Privacy Policy!
© 2009 ArticleInput.com.
Partners: Damenmode