Bruce Willis: biography, filmography, personal life

His name became almost common and means for many an image of an ineradicable and charming American hero-loner, who with jokes will find a way out of any hopeless situation and at the same time will save mankind. Bruce Willis, whose biography is full of films of this kind, starred in a large number of blockbusters, which brought in profits only from ticket sales of more than $ 2.5 billion. But at the beginning of the path of one of Hollywood's most highly paid actors, not everything was easy and unclouded.

American with German roots

March 19, 1956 in the West German town of Idar-Oberstein, in the family of the American soldier David Willis and the German Marlene was born the first-born - Walter Bruce Willis. The biography of the future movie star continued in the United States, where the family moved two years later, when David's contract expired.

In the town of Point Carney, in New Jersey, where the Willis settled, they had two more sons and a daughter, and the head of the family had to work hard to feed a large family. He was a typical blue-collar worker - a "blue collar" - and worked in a factory, so there was no extra money in the family. The fact that you should not shun any work, early learned and young Bruce Willis. His biography began with the help of his father in providing the family: already in his school years, he worked as a loader, a cleaner in a hotel, and so on.

Buck-Buck

In childhood, Bruce stuttered monstrously - when answering the board he was worried and could not connect a couple of words. His classmates nicknamed him Bak-Bak, but they were afraid of teasing - Bruce was not a good boy and constantly got into fights. "It was easier for me to explain myself with the help of kulaks," Bruce Willis recalled. The actor's biography began as a means of combating stuttering - it turned out that, by depicting someone, Bruce miraculously got rid of his defect.

At the age of 14 he asked for a role in the school play and gradually became interested in theater, becoming the head of a drama club. There was also a certainty that the acting profession is his vocation. But two years have passed since leaving school, before he took the first steps along this path. He worked as a security guard at a power plant in New Jersey, a driver at the chemical plant of Dupont Corporation. For some time he was even a private detective, but soon became a student at the drama department of Monteclear State University in New Jersey.

New York

The period of education was short - at 25 he moved to New York. The next 5 years, Willis calls the most crazy in his life: hoping for an opportunity, participating in hundreds of auditions, he often remained completely without money. I had to get a job as a waiter in the restaurant Kamikaze Club. But even here it was not all smooth - he confused orders, stepped on the guests' feet and, like an apotheosis, dropped the full tray on the client's head. The administration made a wise move - put Willis behind the bar, and he became a barman. Here the witty and charming young actor was in his place. Entertaining customers not always with decent jokes, masterfully handling bottles and glasses, he became a local attraction.

Then he caught the eye of an assistant director for casting, who invited him to the role of bartender in one of the productions. Gradually, the studios remembered a young actor named Bruce Willis. The films in which he participated at that time - "The First Deadly Sin" (1980), "The Verdict" (1982), - did not create fame for him, his name was not even mentioned in the credits. In the mid-80's he takes another risky and decisive step - moving closer to Hollywood, to Los Angeles.

Lucky case

At first Bruce was engaged only in minor roles on television, but then, in 1985, there was an incredibly lucky event. On the selection of the actor for the main role in the television series "Detective Agency" Moonlight "» he was the last of more than three hundred applicants. And yet, the role of the cheerful and resourceful private detective David Addison, partner of the hostess and director of the agency Meddi Hayes, played by the real star - Sybil Shepherd, was received by Bruce Willis. The films in which he played a private detective happened later, but this role seemed created for him and was the beginning of a brilliant career.

"I played myself," said Willis. He did not have to pretend to be a gay young man, eager to enjoy his life. For four seasons he made himself the name of a bright comedian, fell in love with millions of television viewers and ... became a millionaire.

Die Hard (1988)

In 1987 there were important changes in the personal life of the actor - he marries. Demi Moore and Bruce Willis lived thirteen years in marriage and gave birth to three daughters. His fatherhood, Willis is proud of no less than an acting career. In family life, Demi had problems, but they remained good friends after the divorce.

After several comedic works - The Return of Bruno (1987), The Blind Date (1987) - there is a significant event in the career of Willis: he got the role of John MacLaine in Die Hard. Although in the film he demonstrates "proprietary" wit, but this is by no means a comedic character, and the actor was equally convincing in the embodiment of the single hero.

Initially, this scenario was created as a continuation of the action movie "Commando" with Arnold Schwarzenegger, then the role of MacLane was offered to Sylvester Stallone. Probably, it's good that the protagonist was not a taciturn mountain of muscles, although Willis showed an excellent physical shape, and Bruce Willis's growth of 183 cm does not seem unimpressive. But the main were the warmth of the human face of the hero-policeman and the reliability of the reasons that prompted him to perform incredible feats. This image became decisive for the successful film career of Willis, which was confirmed to varying degrees by four sequels of the "Die Hard".

Roles passage and cult

Over the next time, Willis could afford to participate in films that were not particularly appreciated by critics and viewers - such as the erotic thriller "Color of the Night" (1993) or "Deadly Thoughts" (1991), where the then wife of Bruce Willis - Demi Moore. But there were true masterpieces, where the actor demonstrates, in addition to incredible charisma, his impressive acting talent.

The status of one of the best heroes of the militants Willis confirmed in the "The Last Boy Scout" (1994), in the continuations of the Die Hard (1990, 1995, 2007, 2013), in the brilliant "Fifth Element" (1997) and in the gloomy "Jackal" (1997) ). In addition, there was a masterpiece of black humor, "Death to her face" (1992), a cult "Pulp Fiction" (1994), a bizarre and multifaceted film "12 Monkeys" (1995), a subtle and unexpected "Sixth Sense" (1999) Light and virtuosic "Nine Yards" (1999) and no less cultic "City of Sins" (2005). Willis is also organic in the absurd on the scale of the "cranberry" "Armageddon" (1998), and in the episodic role in the sitcom "Friends" (2000), and in the ironic "RED" (2010) - all on his account more than 90 films.

Actor, producer, musician and father

Bruce Willis' current wife, Emma Hemig, is 23 years younger and has recently given him two more daughters - Mabel Ray (2012) and Evelyn Penn (2014). He maintained friendly relations with his former wife Demi Moore and their common daughters - Rumer Glenn (1988), Scout LaRou (1991) and Talula Bel (1994).

Children Bruce Willis - the most important component of his life, which is now filled to the limit with work and emotions. In addition to new projects, where he participates both as an actor and as a producer, he plays with rock'n'roll friends in the Accelerates team, produces solo country-style albums, enters the stage in a Broadway production by Stephen King.

Among his faithful fans, not only adults, but also children - Bruce Willis is often invited to voice animated films (Lesnaya Bratva, 2006). The excellent physical form of Bruce and the natural optimism of the famous actor give hope for the upcoming meetings with his new works.