Bruce Willis
Known for: Acting
Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. His career began on the off-Broadway stage in the 1970s, and he then achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series “Moonlighting” (1985–1989). He went on to appear in over 70 films, gaining widespread recognition as an action hero after his portrayal of John McClane in the “Die Hard” franchise (1988–2013) and other subsequent roles. Willis's other credits include “The Last Boy Scout” (1991), “Pulp Fiction” (1994), “12 Monkeys” (1995), “Last Man Standing” (1996), “The Fifth Element” (1997), “Armageddon” (1998), “The Sixth Sense” (1999), “Hart's War” (2002), “Tears of the Sun” (2003), “Hostage” (2005), “Lucky Number Slevin” (2006), “Surrogates” (2009), “Moonrise Kingdom” (2012), “Rock the Kasbah” (2015), and “Motherless Brooklyn” (2019). As a singer, Willis released his debut album The Return of Bruno in 1987, followed by two more successful albums in 1989 and 2001. He made his Broadway debut in the stage adaptation of Misery in 2015. Willis has received numerous accolades during his career, including a Golden Globe, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and two People's Choice Awards. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2006. In March 2022, Willis announced that he was retiring from acting after being diagnosed with aphasia, which affects his ability to communicate. In February 2023, Willis' family announced that they had received a more accurate diagnosis and he had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia.
Filmography
Series
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Self - Guest
2015
Series
Friends
Paul Stevens
1994
Series
The Daily Show
Self - Guest
1996
Series
Late Show with David Letterman
Self
1993
Series
Late Show with David Letterman
Self - Guest
1993
Series
Late Show with David Letterman
Self - Top Ten Presenter
1993
Series
Conan
Self - Guest
2010
Series
Saturday Night Live
Self - Host
1975
Series
Saturday Night Live
Self (uncredited)
1975
Series
The View
Self
1997
Film
Pulp Fiction
Butch Coolidge
1994
Series
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Self - Guest
2003
Series
Miami Vice
Tony Amato
1984
Series
Golden Globe Awards
Self
1944
Series
Top Gear
Self
2002
Series
That '70s Show
Vic
1998
Series
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Self - Guest
1993
Series
The Orville
Groogen (voice)
2017
Film
The Fifth Element
Korben Dallas
1997
Series
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Self
2003
Film
Die Hard
John McClane
1988
Series
Mad About You
Bruce Willis
1992
Film
Die Hard 2
John McClane
1990
Series
The Twilight Zone
Peter Novins (segment "Shatterday")
1985
Series
Moonlighting
David Addison
1985
Film
The Sixth Sense
Malcolm Crowe
1999
Series
Late Night with David Letterman
Self - Guest
1982
Film
Die Hard: With a Vengeance
John McClane
1995
Series
WIRED's Autocomplete Interviews
Self - Guest
2016
Series
Taff
self
1997
Film
Split
David Dunn (uncredited)
2017
Film
Twelve Monkeys
James Cole
1995
The Reichen Show
Self - Guest
2005
Film '72
Self
1971
Film
Over the Hedge
RJ (voice)
2006
Film
Armageddon
Harry S. Stamper
1998
Film
The Expendables
Mr. Church (uncredited)
2010
Film
RED
Frank Moses
2010
Film
Sin City
Hartigan
2005
Film
Ocean's Twelve
Bruce Willis
2004
Film
Looper
Old Joe
2012
Series
Ally McBeal
Dr. Nickle (uncredited)
1997
Film
The Jackal
The Jackal
1997
Goldene Kamera
Self
1984
Film
Sin City: A Dame to Kill For
Hartigan
2014
Film
RED 2
Frank Moses
2013
Film
Live Free or Die Hard
John McClane
2007
Series
America's Game: The Super Bowl Champions
Narrator (voice)
2006
Film
Unbreakable
David Dunn
2000
Film
The Expendables 2
Church
2012
Where Are They Now?
Self
1999
Film
The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part
Bruce Willis (voice)
2019
Film
Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle
William Rose Bailey (uncredited)
2003
Film
Glass
David Dunn / The Overseer
2019
Film
Planet Terror
Lieutenant Muldoon
2007
Film
Death Wish
Paul Kersey
2018
Film
Tears of the Sun
Lieutenant A.K. Waters
2003
Series
HBO First Look
1992
Series
HBO First Look
Self
1992
Film
Death Becomes Her
Dr. Ernest Menville
1992
Series
The Movies That Made Us
Det. John McClane (archive footage)
2019
Film
Moonrise Kingdom
Captain Sharp
2012
Film
G.I. Joe: Retaliation
Joe Colton
2013
Film
Surrogates
Tom Greer
2009
Film
The Siege
Major-General William Devereaux
1998
Film
Lucky Number Slevin
Mr. Goodkat
2006
Film
Four Rooms
Leo (uncredited)
1995
Film
16 Blocks
Jack Mosley
2006
Film
The Last Boy Scout
Joe Hallenbeck
1991
Film
Cop Out
Jimmy Monroe
2010
Film
A Good Day to Die Hard
John McClane
2013
Film
The Whole Nine Yards
Jimmy 'Tulipán' Tudeski
2000
Film
Alpha Dog
Sonny Truelove
2006
Film
Hudson Hawk
Eddie 'Hudson Hawk' Hawkins
1991
Film
Vice
Julian
2015
Film
Mercury Rising
Art Jeffries
1998
Film
The Kid
Russ Duritz
2000
Film
Striking Distance
Tom Hardy
1993
Series
James Cameron's Story of Science Fiction
Self
2018
Film
The Player
Bruce Willis
1992
Film
Color of Night
Dr. Bill Capa
1994
Series
Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis
Self
2008
The Entertainment Biz
Self
1998
Film
Hostage
Jeff Talley
2005
Film
Vendetta
Donnie Fetter
2022
Film
Hart's War
Col. William A. McNamara
2002
Film
The Prince
Omar
2014
Film
Catch.44
Mel
2011
Film
Grindhouse
Muldoon (segment "Planet Terror")
2007
Film
First Kill
Howell
2017
Film
Midnight in the Switchgrass
Karl Helter
2021
Film
Look Who's Talking
Mikey (voice)
1989
Film
Nancy Drew
Bruce (uncredited)
2007
Film
The Verdict
Courtroom Observer (uncredited)
1982
Film
Bandits
Joseph Blake
2001
Film
Last Man Standing
John Smith
1996
Film
Perfect Stranger
Harrison Hill
2007
Film
Once Upon a Time in Venice
Steve
2017
Series
Dolly
Self
1987
Film
Paradise City
Ian Swan
2022
Film
Blind Date
Walter Davis
1987
Film
Cosmic Sin
James Ford
2021
Film
National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1
John McClane (uncredited)
1993
Film
Air Strike
Jack
2018
Film
North
Narrator (voice)
1994
Film
Apex
Thomas Malone
2021
Film
Motherless Brooklyn
Frank Minna
2019
Film
Marauders
Hubert
2016
Film
Rugrats Go Wild
Spike (voice)
2003
Film
The Story of Us
Ben Jordan
1999
Film
Acts of Violence
Detective James Avery
2018
Film
Fortress
Robert
2021
Film
Hard Kill
Chalmers
2020
Film
Beavis and Butt-Head Do America
Muddy (voice)
1996
Series
Bruno the Kid
Bruno the Kid (voice)
1996
Film
Out of Death
Jack Harris
2021
Film
Corrective Measures
Julius 'The Lobe' Loeb
2022
Film
Fire with Fire
Mike Cella
2012
Film
The Bonfire of the Vanities
Peter Fallow
1990
Film
Breach
Clay Young
2020
Film
Look Who's Talking Too
Mikey (voice)
1990
Film
The Whole Ten Yards
Jimmy Tudeski
2004
Film
Detective Knight: Redemption
Det. James Knight
2022
Film
I'm Still Here
Self - Guest
2010
Film
A Day to Die
Alston
2022
Film
Nobody's Fool
Carl Roebuck
1994
Film
Sly
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
2023
Film
The Cold Light of Day
Martin
2012
Film
Precious Cargo
Eddie
2016
Film
Gasoline Alley
Detective Freeman
2022
Film
The Astronaut Farmer
Doug Masterson (uncredited)
2007
Film
Wire Room
Shane Mueller
2022
Film
Trauma Center
Lt. Det. Wakes
2019
Film
What Just Happened
Bruce Willis
2008
Film
Extraction
Leonard Turner
2015
Series
The Early Show
Self - Guest
1999
Film
Wrong Place
Frank
2022
Series
The Emmy Awards
Self
1949
Film
Setup
Biggs
2011
Film
10 Minutes Gone
Rex
2019
Film
Billy Bathgate
Bo Weinberg
1991
Film
Fast Food Nation
Harry Rydell
2006
Film
White Elephant
Arnold Soloman
2022
Film
American Siege
Ben Watts
2022
Film
Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen
(archive footage)
2012
Film
Reprisal
James
2018
Film
Between Two Ferns: The Movie
Bruce Willis (archive footage)
2019
Film
Deadlock
Ron Whitlock
2021
Film
Detective Knight: Independence
Det. James Knight
2023
Film
Lay the Favorite
Dink Heimowitz
2012
Film
Survive the Night
Frank
2020
Film
Fortress: Sniper's Eye
Robert
2022
Film
Detective Knight: Rogue
Det. James Knight
2022
Film
Mortal Thoughts
James Urbanski
1991
Film
Survive the Game
David
2021
Film
Assassination of a High School President
Principal Jared T. Kirkpatrick
2008
Film
Rock the Kasbah
Bombay Brian
2015
Film
Shine a Light
Self - Concert Audience (uncredited)
2008
Series
E! True Hollywood Story
Self
1996
Film
Tony Bennett Celebrates 90
Self
2016
Film
In Country
Emmett Smith
1989
Film
Bruce Willis, l'indestructible
2020
Film
Breakfast of Champions
Dwayne Hoover
1999
Film
Assassin
Valmora
2023
Film
Altman
Self
2014
Film
Comedy Central Roast of Bruce Willis
Self
2018
Film
Prince of the City
Extra (uncredited)
1981
Film
The First Deadly Sin
Man Entering Diner as Delaney Leaves (uncredited)
1980
Film
Bruce Willis : les secrets d'une icône
Self (archive footage)
2025
Film
Sunset
Tom Mix
1988
Film
Barbra Streisand: One Voice
Self - Audience Member (uncredited)
1986
Film
John Travolta, le miraculé d'Hollywood
Self - Actor (archive footage)
2017
Film
That's Adequate
Self
1989
Film
Saturday Night Live: 15th Anniversary
Self
1989
Film
Warren Ellis: Captured Ghosts
Self
2011
Film
Hammy's Boomerang Adventure
RJ (voice)
2006
Film
Tony Bennett: An American Classic
Self - Speaker
2006
Film
My Date with Drew
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
2005
Film
Inferno: The Making of 'The Expendables'
Self
2010
Film
The Return of Bruno
Bruno Radolini
1987
Film
Genius. A Night for Ray Charles
Self
2004
Film
His Way
Self
2011
Film
B.B. King: The Life of Riley
Self
2012
Film
Armageddon: Target Earth
Self
1998
Film
The Hip Hop Project
Self
2006
Film
Close Up
Self (archive footage)
2012
Film
The Randall Scandal: Love, Loathing, and Vanderpump
Self (archive footage)
2023
Film
Journey to Safety: Making 'Tears of the Sun'
Self
2003
Film
Pulp Fiction: The Facts
Self (archive footage)
2002
Film
Grand Champion
Mr. Blandford
2004
Film
Seriously... Phil Collins
Self
1990
Film
The Hamster Factor and Other Tales of 'Twelve Monkeys'
Self
1996
Quentin Tarantino: From a Movie Buff to a Hollywood Legend
Self (archive footage)
2021
Film
The Rolling Stones: From the Vault - Sticky Fingers Live at the Fonda Theatre 2015
Self - Audience Member
2017
Film
Gorillaz - Single Collection 2001-2011
2011
The Pointer Sisters: Up All Nite
Self
1987
Film
The Art of Action: Martial Arts in the Movies
Self - Interviewee (uncredited)
2002
Film
Bruce Willis: Why the Legend Never Dies
Narrator (voice) / Self
2013
Film
Annie Leibovitz 1993 Phaidon Documentary
Self
1993
Series
Inside the Actors Studio
Self
1994
Pulp Fiction: Behind The Scenes Montages
2002
Film
A Night to Die For
Self
1995
Film
Bruno the Kid: The Animated Movie
Bruno the Kid (voice) (archive footage)
1997
Film
True West
Lee
2002
Film
Exploring the Set of 'Moonrise Kingdom'
Self / Cap Sharp
2015
Film
A Guru Comes
Extra (uncredited)
1980
Film
Emma and Bruce Willis: The Unexpected Journey – A Diane Sawyer Special
Self (archive footage)
2025