Well known for playing boisterous and witty characters in movies, Walter Bruce Willis, is an American actor, producer and singer. He was born on 19th March, 1955, in Idar-Oberstein, Germany, to ex-US soldier David Willis and Marlene, who hailed from Germany. Since his childhood, Bruce Willis participated in school plays and was well known for his sense of humor. After doing odd jobs such as security for a chemical factory, and a private investigator, Willis joined Montclair State University in New Jersey as a drama student. He used to wait tables and tend bars, while studying and auditioning for roles. He got his first break in 1977 in the off-Broadway play Heaven and Earth. In 1980, Willis landed an uncredited role in Frank Sinatra's The First Deadly Sin. He had another blink-and-miss role in Sidney Lumet's 1982 courtroom drama, The Verdict. In 1984 Willis also acted on a episode of the hit TV crime-drama series, Miami Vice (1984-1990). He also guest starred on one of the episodes of 1980s revival of The Twilight Zone (1985-1989).
Willis' first major role came in the comedy crime-mystery TV series, Moonlighting (1985-1989). He played David Addison Jr., a private investigator, opposite Cybill Shepherd, who played Madelyn 'Maddie' Hayes. Willis won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Television Series Musical or Comedy for the TV series. In 1987 Willis starred as the lead actor opposite Kim Basinger in director Blake Edwards' romance-comedy, Blind Date. But it was his role as John McClane in the 1988 action movie, Die Hard that catapulted into super-stardom. The John McTiernan movie saw Willis, an actor known for his comedic TV roles until then, in an action role for the first time, a genre he would fit into with ease in the later years. Die Hard was a huge hit and can often be seen on most 'Best Action Movie' lists. The movie was the first in the Die Hard franchise, which now has four sequels, most of them critically acclaimed and box office successes.
Over an illustrious career spanning nearly 33 years, the Golden Globe Award-winning actor has acted in over 60 films, which include The Last Boy Scout (1991), Pulp Fiction (1994), 12 Monkeys (1995), The Fifth Element (1997), Armageddon (1998), The Sixth Sense (1999), Unbreakable (2000), Sin City (2005), Lucky Number Slevin (2006), Grindhouse (2007), RED (2010), Moonrise Kingdom (2012), The Expendables 2 (2012), Looper (2012), and Split (2016). Apart from movies, Willis has also guest starred in TV series' like Bruno the Kid (1996-1997), Mad About You (1992-1999), Ally McBeal (1997-2002), Friends (1994-2004), and That 70's Show (1998-2006). With several critically acclaimed and action movies, Willis is one of the most bankable stars in Hollywood. His 1999 horror-mystery, The Sixth Sense has a lifetime gross of $293.5 million. Willis is one of the few Hollywood actors to have acted in movies that have grossed $3 billion or more.
In 2018 Willis played Paul Kersey in Eli Roth's vigilante thriller, Death Wish. The movie is a remake of the 1974 Michael Winner movie of the same name, with Charles Bronson playing Paul Kersey in the original movie. Both the movies are based on the 1972 novel of the same by Brian Garfield. His 2018 release includes Air Strike.