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Cult hero returns, for diehard fans
RANDOR GUY
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From killer to action hero, Bruce Willis has donned a variety of roles. He is back in the fourth sequel, ‘Die Hard 4.0.’
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Photo: AP
Star power: Bruce Willis in ‘Die Hard 4.0.’
“I have zero interest in performing in films to try to convey any kind of message. My job is to be entertaining. I get to do small, independent films. I was one of the first actors to start doing supporting roles in other people&
#8217;s films. At the time my agents thought that was a really bad idea but I get to do that now. I don’t mind it and it doesn’t keep me from doing big films like ‘Die Hard 4’ for the studios. So, I get to do both things,” says action hero and Hollywood star Bruce Willis, in an interview.
As they say in Hollywood, there are no big or small roles, only big and small actors.
So Willis accepts a variety of roles, provided they are challenging. Despite becoming a cult figure with ‘Die Hard’ and its sequels, he does not confine himself to one genre.
Different genres
Willis has worked in Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Pulp Fiction’ and Manoj Shyamalan’s eerie smash hit, ‘The Sixth Sense.’ In ‘Sin City,’ which is filled with violence, corrupt politicians and other vices, Willis is an ageing top cop. In ‘Perfect Stranger,’ a thriller, he stars with Halle Berry.
If he is impressed with the script he does not hesitate to scale down his salary. A case in point is ‘The Sixth Sense.’ Since it was a low-budget movie with a new director, he accepted a salary of $ 20 millions and chose to opt for a share in profits and also video rights and so on.
Well, the movie was a smash hit and his final take-home packet was
$100 millions!
Background
Walter Bruce Willis was born on March 19, 1955, in Idar-Oberstein, West Germany. He grew up in Penns Grove, New Jersey, and after school he relocated to New York to become an actor. During his early struggling years, he worked as a waiter and bartender before he began to get small roles in plays.
One day while he was mixing drinks, a casting director noticed him and impressed by his personality and looks cast him in a movie, as a bartender.
His early roles, however, were insignificant. His first break came in television with the hit series, ‘Moonlighting,’ (1984-89) and it won him a Golden Globe Award. In a curious twist of fate, Willis, the last one to audition for it, was selected over 3,000 candidates.
Although the lead actress rejected him, the writer and his team backed him to the hilt on a hunch. While still working on the ‘Moonlighting’ series, he was cast in the lead role of John McClane, a New York City police-detective in ‘Die Hard’ (1988).
In the film, he launches a one-man war against a terrorist group who have taken over a posh hotel and is holding visitors, guests and its employees hostage.
Produced at a budget of $28 millions, the film was a major hit and raked in $187 millions establishing Bruce Willis as a star. Critics felt it was one of the finest, action thrillers ever made in Hollywood.
The sequels
Not surprisingly, the sequels began: ‘Die Hard 2’ (1990), ‘Die Hard — With a Vengeance’ (third part of the series, 1995) and ‘Live Free or Die Hard’ which is also known as ‘Die Hard 4.0’ (2007).
‘Die Hard — With a Vengeance’ was made at a budget of $90 millions and picked up $347 millions! And the latest ‘Die Hard 4.0’ is expected to bring in bigger profits.
Willis has appeared in over 70 movies. Mention-worthy ones include ‘Perfect Stranger’ (2007), ‘The Whole Ten Yards’ (2004), ‘The Whole Nine Yards’ (2000) and ‘The Fifth Element’ (1997).
He was married to actor Demi Moore. But they separated after 11 years of marriage and three children.
With his current star power, he involves himself in production and works as executive producer in most of the projects.
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Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
|
