Bruce Willis, whose career lasted more than 40 years, is retiring from acting. The news has shared on social media by Willis family, revealing that the actor has been diagnosed with aphasia, which is a language disorder that impacts the ability to communicate.
Incredibly, up until this announcement, Willis was working at an incredible clip. Although most of his recent movies have ended up going straight to video-on-demand, he kept working and, as a result, there are a number of new Bruce Willis movies that will appear over the coming months.
As Willis officially retires from acting, we look back at some of our favorite roles from his long and varied career in TV shows and movies.
Moonlighting (1985-1989)
Wisecracking private eye David Addison was the role that propelled Willis from jobbing actor into the big leagues. Moonlighting was a surprise smash hit that ran for five seasons in the 1980s that played with genres combining elements of screwball comedy, mystery, film/TV noir mixed with dream sequences, Shakespearean-themed episodes and many, many musical interludes. Addison was the template for all the hallmarks of the Willis cinematic persona that we love: ironic comments, salty quips and the trademark wry smirk that should be irritating but became so endearing — to viewers and to his detective agency (and soon to be romantic on-screen) partner Maddie Hayes (Cybill Shepherd). For many seasons Moonlighting was a critical and popular success for several years — earning Bruce Willis a Golden Globe, People's Choice and an Emmy Award — before external factors (including Willis' growing film career) contributed to its swift, but still sad, decline... - Louise Okafor
Die Hard (1988)
Like the chicken and the egg debate, we can argue how much Die Hard made Bruce Willis’ career or Bruce Willis made Die Hard, but one thing cannot be questioned — Die Hard is one of the best action movies ever made. As John McClane, Willis played a cop who becomes a reluctant action hero — saving the day after a criminal mastermind targets his wife's company. In the process, he gets bare-footed, dirty (literally, that is, not his policing style) and looks about as exhausted as someone would if they had to single-handedly take on an international gang at a Christmas party. Even as he throws out fantastic quips to defeated bad guys, Willis’ McClane in Die Hard is as close to an average guy forced to live up to his circumstances as you’ll get in an action movie (the sequels a bit less so), and we love him for it. Yippie ki-yay!.
Pulp Fiction (1994)
The Quentin Tarantino classic gave everyone involved an iconic role, for Bruce Willis that was the boxer Butch Coolidge, who has the day from hell. Centering one of the movie’s connected but out-of-order chapters, Butch goes back on a deal with gangster Marcellus Wallace to throw a fight then has to try and skip town with his girlfriend. The only problem is she forgets his father’s watch, which had quite a journey to get to a young Butch. Things become a bloody mess (literally) as he tries to get it back. Even if this segment and a brief appearance in another is all we get to see from Willis in Pulp Fiction, the sequence, including its final line of "Zed’s dead, baby," is a standout in a near-perfect movie.
The Sixth Sense (1999)
The supernatural thriller from M. Night Shyamalan about a young boy (Haley Joel Osment), who is visited by the spirits of dead people, was a sensation when it first screened, with audiences heatedly debating one of the most famous twists in movie history.
Over time the much-talked-about twist has become a true watercooler moment —and arguably more famous than anything else about The Sixth Sense — which is a shame because the movie and the performances from Bruce Willis and Osment are complex, creepy and riveting in their own right. It was an understated role for Willis, that got overshadowed by his action and comedy performances, but he is a key part of a movie that still has a 86% fresh Rotten Tomatoes score.
Friends (2000)
Back on TV for the first time since Moonlighting, Bruce Willis had a fantastic guest run on the sixth season of Friends. Playing Paul Stevens, he is the father of a younger woman that Ross (David Schwimmer) starts to date. He takes an instant dislike to Ross and threatens to destroy his career if he doesn’t stop seeing his daughter. Further complicating things, Paul soon becomes attracted to Rachel (Jennifer Aniston). It all comes down to a fantastic scene where Willis ends up singing "Love Machine" to himself (or so he thinks) in a mirror. Willis won an Emmy for his three-episode arc and went down as one of the best guest stars on Friends (and that’s a long list).
Unbreakable (2000)
After The Sixth Sense, Bruce Willis went back-to-back with director M. Night Shyamalan with his next movie, Unbreakable. This might actually be the stronger of the two performances. As the only survivor of a devastating train crash, the premise is that Willis is practically indestructible. What makes it such a good performance is that Willis has to deal with his own self-doubts and his crumbling personal life as he learns about his unique gift. Movie fans were ecstatic years later when it was revealed that Shyamalan’s Split turned out to be in the same universe as Unbreakable with a cameo from Willis, leading to 2019’s Glass. Unbreakable remains the standout in the series.
The Whole Nine Yards (2000)
The Whole Nine Yards and its sequel, are great examples of Willis' versatility as an actor in the action and comedy genres. Willis, playing "Jimmy the Tulip" Tudeski, an intimidating hitman for the mafia, paired well with Matthew Perry’s bumbling idiot of a character, Dr. Nicholas "Oz" Oseransky. One of the best scenes, in the film, is when Jimmy the Tulip offers Jill St. Claire (played by Amanda Peet) a job as a hitwoman. That’s when it’s revealed through their banter that she was hired to kill Dr. Oseransky. This conversation all takes place as the good doctor is standing right in front of them. Willis’ sarcastic wit, here and throughout the movie, made for a good laugh. - Terrell Smith
Looper (2012)
Willis continued to be an action star until his retirement, but his peak was in the late 2000s and early 2010s when he appeared in movies like RED, The Expendables and their sequels. But if we’re going to single out any of the action star’s movies from that time period it has to be Looper. Playing a hired assassin sent back in time to be killed off by his younger self, Willis is great — especially in the scenes opposite Joseph Gordon-Levitt, as the younger him. It’s easily one of the actor’s defining roles.
Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
2012 was a good year for Willis, where he got to show off his action (see above) and comedic abilities. The latter came in Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom. Playing police captain Sharp, Willis fits marvelously with Anderson’s dry wit. He also shows an emotional element in his character’s relationship with the young boy Sam and Frances McDormand’s Mrs. Bishop. Willis earned a Best Supporting Actor nomination from the Indie Spirit Awards for his performance. It’s a shame Willis didn’t get another chance to play in Wes Anderson’s sandbox, but it was a joy to watch him in Moonrise Kingdom.
