Bruce Willis is one of the biggest names in Hollywood. His role as John McClane in the Die Hard franchise catapulted his name as an action hero. It brought him widespread claim and he further got to work in several memorable movies such as Pulp Fiction, 12 Monkeys, and The Sixth Sense. Despite providing some critically acclaimed performances in these movies, Willis has openly stated how he regrets rejecting some of the iconic movies like Ghost.
Ghost was a critically as well as commercially appreciated movie released in 1990. The fantasy romance movie starring Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore gained a cult following over the years. But it was reported during an interview in 2007 that revealed Bruce Willis to be the initial choice for the role of Sam Wheat, which eventually went to the Late Swayze.
Why did Bruce Willis reject Ghost?
It was in 2007 when during a Q&A session, it was revealed by Bruce Willis that he rejected some of the most renowned roles. Among these were projects like Ghost and Ocean’s 11. The rejection of the 1990 Jerry Zucker directorial shocked most fans, given the status achieved by the movie over the years.
If Bruce Willis’ words are to be believed, he couldn’t figure out how a romance between a ghost and a real person would work which led him to not work in the movie. But after the movie was released, he regretted it the most, as he missed the chance to work with Moore, with whom he was married to from 1987 to 2000. Moreover, his doubts were also cleared as he loved the movie.
“I wish I had not turned down the part that Patrick Swayze eventually played in Ghost. I simply could not see how a romance between a ghost and a living person would work. Duh…. Also it would have been nice to have worked with Demi again. I liked that Film.”
Further in the Ain’t It Cool News, Willis also revealed how he passed on the role of Terry Benedict in Ocean’s 11 which was then given to Andy Garcia in the final cut, whereas the Armageddon star ended up with a cameo in the sequel.
What did Bruce Willis say about Ocean’s 11?
Ocean’s 11 boasts a star-studded cast consisting of Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, and many others. The widely appreciated heist movie got a very positive reception from the fans and developed into a franchise of its own in no time. Interestingly, the role of the antagonist Terry Benedict was initially offered to Bruce Willis, who turned it down.
Willis stated that when the role was offered to him, the script was incomplete, as a result of which he did not accept it. But similar to Ghost, it was yet another regretful decision for him.
“Also, I wish I had played the role of Terry Benedict in Oceans 11. I wanted to work with George Clooney, and thought I might only have one shot at doing it, and when I read the script, the Terry Benedict role in Oceans 11 wasn’t finished yet, so I passed on it. Another bad choice, but Andy Garcia did a great job with it, and the rest is history.”
The Unbreakable actor got a chance to have a cameo appearance in the sequel titled Ocean’s 12. The list doesn’t end here, as he was also offered the role of David Caravaggio in The English Patient which was later given to Willem Dafoe.
Even after rejecting many movies, Bruce Willis has been a part of more than 100 movies. A majority of his projects during his final phases before retirement were direct-to-video films. He completed eight projects before departing from cinema due to his medical condition of Aphasia, with two of them still waiting to be released in 2023.
Ghost can be streamed on Amazon Prime.
Source: Ain’t It Cool News
