Happy Birthday Bruce Willis – The Action Hero Turns 65

Mar 18, 2020 by apost team

Everyone knows him as the tough cop John McClane in the "Die Hard" series. Today, Bruce Willis, who owes his Hollywood career mainly to his appearances in action movies, turns 65. To celebrate his special day we take a look at his career path.

On March 19, 1955, Walter Bruce Willis was born in Idar-Oberstein, Germany, to a German mother and an American father who was stationed in the US military at the time. The family moved to the US in 1957 where young Bruce Willis was raised in Penns Grove, New Jersey.

In his teens, Willis discovered his passion for acting and began participating in his high school’s dramatic arts program. He later moved to New York City and appeared in a few off-Broadway plays before he attracted the attention of a casting director, according to IMDb.

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After Bruce Willis performed in a few smaller roles for example in "Miami Vice," he had his breakthrough in 1985 with the TV-series “Moonlighting” that aired a total of 66 episodes and starred Willis in the role of David Addison, a private detective. Willis received a Golden Globe and an Emmy for his acting in the TV-series and started making a name for himself in the entertainment industry.

In the late 1980s Willis started playing his most famous role as the New York cop, John McClane, in the "Die Hard" series. He shaped the image of the American action hero like no other when he scared terrorists into flight with his catchphrase, “Yippee-Ki-Yay, Motherf*cker!“ The dirty undershirt he wore as John McClane actually turned into a piece of cultural property and can now be seen in the National Museum of American History.

But his role in “Die Hard” wasn’t Willis’ only appearance in a major Hollywood blockbuster. he also played leading roles in successful motion pictures such as "Pulp Fiction", "The Fifth Element", "Armageddon" or "The Sixth Sense." 

In 2006 Willis was even honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles and according to The Numbers, the actor is on rank 15 of the highest-grossing actors in a leading role as films featuring him grossed about $5 billion worldwide.

In his private life, Willis is quite the family man. He married two times and is the father of five daughters. He married his first wife, actress Demi Moore, in 1987. The two had three daughters together, Rumer, Scout, and Tallulah. Even though Willis and Moore divorced in 2000 they have stayed close friends ever since.

In 2009 Willis wed his second wife, model Emma Heming. The couple is still married and had two more daughters together, Mabel and Evelyn Penn. 

Are you a fan of Bruce Willis and his action movies? Let us know in the comments and be sure to wish the Hollywood actor a happy birthday!