bruce willis

Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955 as Walter Bruce Willis in Idar-Oberstein, West Germany) is a European American actor and singer.



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Birth name Walter Bruce Willis

Born March 19, 1955 (age 51)

Idar-Oberstein, West Germany (U.S. Military Base)

Height 6 ft (1.83 m)

Notable roles John McClane in the

Die Hard series,

Joesph 'Joe' Cornelius Hallenbeck in

The Last Boy Scout,

Butch Coolidge in

Pulp Fiction,

Walter Davis in

Blind Date,

James Cole in

Twelve Monkeys,

The Jackal in

The Jackal,

Harry S. Stamper in

Armageddon,

Dr. Malcolm Crowe in

The Sixth Sense,

Jimmy 'The Tulip' Tudeski in

The Whole Nine Yards,

John Hartigan in

Sin City,

Jeff Talley in

Hostage

Academy Awards





Won Emmy in 1987 (Outstanding Lead Actor category) in a Drama Series for an episode of Moonlighting which was



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Biography


Early life
Bruce Willis, was born in the back of a trailer in Idar-Oberstein, Germany, to an American father, David Willis, and a German mother, Marlene Willis. After being discharged from the military in 1957, David took his family back to Penns Grove, New Jersey, and he worked as a welder and factory worker. Bruce was the oldest of four children. He was always an outgoing youngster, although he grew up with a stutter. Finding it easy to express himself on stage, Willis began performing on stage and his high school memberships were marked by such things as the drama club and school council president.



Rather than go to college after graduation, Willis became a blue-collar worker, transporting work crews at the DuPont Chambers Works factory in Deepwater, New Jersey. He decided to quit after a colleague was killed on the job, and thereafter became a regular at several bars. Willis also discovered an innate knack for playing harmonica, and did so for an R&B group, Loose Goose. After a stint as a bodyguard (which he actually plays in his 1991 movie, The Last Boy Scout), Willis returned to his original passion of acting. He enrolled in the drama program at Montclair State University, where he was cast as Brick in the class production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof with Jack Prince as Big Daddy, William Applegate as the doctor and Kevin J. Lynch as the Rev. Tooker. The ambitious junior finally decided to leave school in pursuit of more lucrative movie roles by heading for New York City.



Willis returned to the bar scene, only this time for a part-time job and as a way to meet New York celebrities. He is rumored to have been 'discovered' while working at the Museum Cafe on New York's Upper West Side. After countless auditions, Willis finally made his theater debut in the off-Broadway production of Heaven and Earth. He gained more experience and exposure in Fool for Love, a stint on television's Miami Vice, and a Levi's campaign.





Career
He first found fame with his starring role in the hit TV series Moonlighting (1985–89) establishing himself as a comedic actor. However, it was his then-unexpected turn in the Die Hard series that catapulted him to fame. He also was successful in his turn as the voice of little Mikey in the Look Who's Talking series.



In the late-1980s, Willis enjoyed moderate success as a recording artist, recording an album of pop-blues entitled The Return of Bruno, which included the hit single "Respect Yourself", promoted by a Spinal Tap-like rockumentary parody featuring scenes of him performing at famous events including Woodstock. Follow-up recordings were not as successful, though Willis does return to the recording studio from time to time.



In the early 90s, Willis' career suffered a moderate slump starring in flops such as The Bonfire of the Vanities and Hudson Hawk, among others. However, in 1994 he had a supporting role in Quentin Tarantino's acclaimed Pulp Fiction, which gave a new boost to his career. In 1996 he produced the cartoon Bruno the Kid which featured a CGI representation of himself. He went on to play the lead roles in Twelve Monkeys and The Fifth Element. However, by the end of the '90s, his career had fallen into another slump with critically panned films like The Jackal, Mercury Rising and Breakfast of Champions, saved only by the success of the Michael Bay-directed Armageddon which was the highest grossing film of 1998 in the US.



In 1999, Willis achieved what could be considered the biggest success of his career with his starring role in M. Night Shyamalan's debut film, The Sixth Sense. The film was both a commercial and critical success and launched Willis' career to a new level of stardom.



He once had to appear in the hit sitcom Friends without pay, because he lost a bet to Matthew Perry, his co-star in The Whole Nine Yards and its sequel The Whole Ten Yards.



Willis also appeared on Japanese Subaru Legacy television commercials, optimising the car for sale, with the backing music of Jade from Sweetbox, "Addicted" and "Hate Without Frontiers".



He has finished filming the thriller Perfect Stranger, opposite Halle Berry, and will appear as an unscrupulous farmer in the film version of Fast Food Nation.



He is now filming his return to the role of John McClane in Live Free or Die Hard being directed by Len Wiseman.





Personal life
Willis was married to actress Demi Moore from November 21, 1987 to October 18, 2000. The couple gave no public reason for their breakup. Willis and Moore had three daughters during their thirteen-year union: Rumer Glenn Willis (born 1988), Scout LaRue Willis (1991) and Tallulah Belle Willis (1994). Since their breakup, rumors persisted that the couple planned to re-marry, but Moore has since married Ashton Kutcher. He and Moore have maintained a close relationship.



Bruce was, at one point, Lutheran (specifically Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod); however, he is believed by some to now be an atheist or an agnostic. This is mostly because of a statement he made in the July 1998 issue of George magazine:



"Organized religions in general, in my opinion, are dying forms", he says. "They were all very important when we didn't know why the sun moved, why weather changed, why hurricanes occurred, or volcanoes happened", he continues. "Modern religion is the end trail of modern mythology. But there are people who interpret the Bible literally. Literally!" he says incredulously. "I choose not to believe that's the way. And that's what makes America cool, you know?"

Some reports from military officials suggest that Willis tried to enlist in the military to help fight the second Iraq war, but he was turned away because of his age. [1] He has offered $1 million to any civilian who turns in terrorist leaders Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri or (now the late) Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.[2]



Willis has said that he wants to "make a pro-war film in which American soldiers will be depicted as brave fighters for freedom and democracy." [3] The film will follow members of Deuce Four, the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry, who spent considerable time in Mosul and were decorated heavily for it. The film is to be based on the writings of blogger Michael Yon, a former United States Army Special Forces Green Beret who was embedded with Deuce Four and sent regular dispatches about their heroics.



Willis was one of few Hollywood celebrities to publicly support the Iraq War in 2003. He has endorsed every Republican presidential candidate except Bob Dole in 1996, because Dole had criticized Demi Moore for her role in the movie Striptease. Willis has attempted to play down his status as one of Hollywood's most outspoken Republicans, although he continues to vocally support the Iraq war and gun ownership. In February 2006, Willis appeared in Manhattan to talk about his new movie 16 Blocks with reporters. One reporter attempted to ask Willis about his opinion on current events but was interrupted by Willis in mid-sentence:



I'm sick of answering this fucking question. I'm a Republican only as far as I want a smaller government, I want less government intrusion. I want them to stop shitting on my money and your money and tax dollars that we give 50 percent of... every year. I want them to be fiscally responsible and I want these goddamn lobbyists out of Washington. Do that and I'll say I'm a Republican... I hate the government, OK? I'm apolitical. Write that down. I'm not a Republican.[4]

In a July 2006 interview with Alex Jones, film director Richard Linklater -- who believes that the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks were perpetrated by the United States government to erect a police state -- said he gave one of Jones's documentaries to Willis. Linklater said Willis had told him in an e-mail that the video had changed his entire political paradigm. "He said it put him in such a head space that he will be quiet on issues of national policy," Linklater said. [5] However, Michael Yon, a close friend of Willis confirmed that this was not true. After contacting him about the issue, Yon claimed:



Bruce got back to me this morning saying the press has misconstrued his statements and that this is untrue. Bruce said in part, “…the Linklater statements have been completely misconstrued, as usual by the media.” It’s clear that some media are just attaching Bruce’s name to gain traction. I will not talk about private communications so will keep this very brief by saying I know Bruce’s support for the troops is ongoing and, if anything, increasing. Bruce does not believe this conspiracy theory. [6]

In early 2006, Willis, who usually lives in Los Angeles, moved into an apartment located in the Trump Tower in New York City.[1] Willis also has a home in Malibu, CA, a ranch in Montana and multiple properties in Sun Valley, Idaho.