The 'Yippee-ki yay' moment came before Die Hard for Bruce Willis when he competed against 3,000 actors for his role as David Addison in a television series called Moonlighting. But it was the 20th Century Studios' franchise that played a pivotal role in landing him within the ranks of veteran actors.
As of now, the franchise has garnered $1.4 billion globally since its advent, with Bruce Willis playing the main character in all five movies. The majority of the critical success goes to the first three films, and the last two were more commercially successful.
Bruce Willis was in his 30s when the first movie was being filmed. The actor has worked as a private investigator in real life before, which is an experience he would later find useful in his roles in Moonlighting and The Last Boy Scout, and eventually for playing New York City Police Department (NYPD) Detective John McClane.
The Die Hard actor was 33 at the time
Technically, he was 32 years old at the time of filming the first movie in the franchise and probably turned 33 by the end of it. But he sure was 33 years on the release, given his date of birth, March 19, 1955. Most of the stunts we saw in Die Hard were performed by the actor himself.
That role landed him straight $5 million, making him one of the highest-paid actors in the industry. Arnold Rifkin, considered a Hollywood super-agent, helped Bruce with the role. Many had doubts regarding this as Bruce had worked in TV shows and not in a major film at the time. Ultimately, they were proven wrong.
The success of the first film boosted Willis' career as it landed him another leading role in In Country. He did a voiceover later in Look Who's Talking and its sequel. Nevertheless, none of these came closer to his John McClane role in Die Hard.
And thus began a 25-year saga
Over the years, Bruce Willis landed more roles in the industry, most of them having to do something with the military. His cameo as General Joseph Colton in G.I. Joe was especially a treat for fans who love to see guns (especially military gear) in movies.
The film was released the same year as A Good Day to Die Hard, his last movie as John McClane. Fans will see McClane's character going from a savior of the day to an alcoholic, but that changes in the latter movies. All the stories take place for 25 years.
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Critical scores kept declining in the franchise for the second and the third movies. However, the fourth movie is considered to have helped return to his former glory. Interestingly, it is considered one of the best in the franchise. But then the last one is deemed the worst.
On March 30, 2022, his family announced that Bruce Willis would be retiring, citing health concerns. They issued a statement last year that his condition has progressed.
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