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BRUCE WILLIS BIOGRAPHY |
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Bruce Willis has demonstrated incredible
versatility in a career that has included such diverse
characterizations as the prizefighter in Quentin Tarantino's
Pulp Fiction, the philandering contractor in Robert Benton's
Nobody's Fool, the heroic time traveler in Terry Gilliam's
Twelve Monkeys, the traumatized Vietnam veteran in Norman
Jewison's In Country, the compassionate child psychologist in M.
Night Shyamalan's Oscar-nominated The Sixth Sense (for which he
won the People's Choice Award) and his signature role, detective
John McClane, in the Die Hard trilogy.
Following studies in Montclair State College's prestigious
theater program, the New Jersey native honed his craft in
several stage plays and countless television commercials, before
landing the leading role in Sam Shepard's 1984 stage drama Fool
for Love, a run which lasted for 100 performances off-Broadway.
Willis achieved international stardom and garnered several
acting awards (including an Emmy and a Golden Globe) for his
starring role as private eye David Addison in the hit TV series
Moonlighting, a role that he won over 3,000 other contenders. He
made his motion picture debut opposite Kim Basinger in Blake
Edwards' romantic comedy Blind Date. In 1988, he created the
role of John McClane in the blockbuster Die Hard and reprised
the character in two sequels: Die Hard 2 and 1995's global box
office champ Die Hard: With A Vengeance.
His wide array of film roles includes collaborations with such
respected filmmakers as Michael Bay (Armageddon), M. Night
Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable), Alan Rudolph
(Mortal Thoughts, Breakfast of Champions), Walter Hill (Last Man
Standing), Robert Benton (Billy Bathgate, Nobody's Foo,), Rob
Reiner (The Story of Us), Ed Zwick (The Siege), Luc Besson (The
Fifth Element) Barry Levinson (Bandits), Robert Zemeckis (Death
Becomes Her) and Antoine Fuqua (Tears of the Sun).
Other motion picture credits include The Jackal, Mercury Rising,
The Whole Nine Yards and Disney's The Kid. He also voiced the
character of the wise-cracking infant, Mikey, in Look Who's
Talking and Look Who's Talking Too. He recently voiced the
character of Spike in the animated Rugrats Go Wild!
In addition to his work before the cameras, Willis produced The
Whole Nine Yards and executive produced Breakfast of Champions,
an adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's best selling novel. With
longtime agent, and now partner, Arnold Rifkin, he co-founded
Cheyenne Enterprises, LLC, a film and television production
company based in Los Angeles and Jackson Hole, Wyoming. In
January 2000, the partners signed a film production deal with
Joe Roth's Revolution Studios.
Willis also maintains a hand in the theater. In 1997, he co-founded
A Company of Fools, a non-profit theater troupe committed to
developing and sustaining stage work in the Wood River Valley of
Idaho, and throughout the U.S. He recently starred in and
directed a staging of Sam Shepard's dark comedy True West at the
Liberty Theater in Hailey, Idaho. The play, which depicts the
troubled relationship between two brothers, was aired on
Showtime and dedicated to Willis' late brother Robert.
An accomplished musician, Willis recorded the 1986 Motown album
The Return of Bruno, which went platinum and contained the #5
Billboard hit Respect Yourself. Three years later, he recorded a
second album If It Don't Kill You, It Just Makes You Stronger.
Last year, he launched a U.S. club tour with his new musical
group The Accelerators. |
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