Bruce Willis cemented his place in Hollywood as the quintessential action star of his generation. The masculinity that he exuded in all his roles, has been viewed as one of his most attractive qualities, especially by women. In 2010, Willis starred in the action comedy Red, which also featured Mary-Louise Parker.
Parker, who became famous for her show Weeds, was one among the many people who found Willis’s macho personality very appealing. The celebrity recalled a particular incident during the filming of Red when the Die Hard actor justified this assumption of him and made Parker weak-kneed with his action.
Bruce Willis Made Mary-Louise Parker Swoon On The Sets Of Red
With an impressive filmography of swashbuckling action films under his belt, Bruce Willis is widely considered one of Hollywood’s biggest action stars and more significantly, a man’s man. This machoism that The Jackal star is famously known for, was a feature that attracted women to him as well. Willis’s co-star in Red, Mary-Louise Parker narrated an incident involving The Expendables actor, that made her swoon despite the sudden nature of the event. In an appearance on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, she said.
”I’m kind of scared of bugs and there was a bee and he took his prop gun out of his pocket and blew it away. It was this far away from my face. He shot it dead because he’s Bruce Willis. It was so sexy. And then he put it back in his pocket and was back to being like first Willis. It was really quite hot yeah.”
When Parker asked Willis about the incident later, the actor impressed her even more with his chivalry by stating that he attacked the bee to ensure that she was protected.
What Attracted Bruce Willis To Red?
In 2019, Bruce Willis surprised audiences and critics by deviating a bit from his usual path of hardcore action to do an action comedy titled Red. The film went on to become a surprising and unexpected hit that prompted a sequel in which Willis shared screen space with other huge stars like Catherine-Zeta Jones, Anthony Hopkins, John Malkovich, and Helen Mirren. Speaking to Reuters about the franchise and what appealed to him in the script, Willis said,
“I was one of the first in, and I liked it just because of the story. From what I hear — and I hear things said — some people say, ‘Well, I want to be in an action movie with Bruce Willis.’ But this is a lot more than an action movie. It has a lot more story to it. It was a lot more complex.”
The nuances of the story that elevated the films beyond mere action, were a defining factor in Willis deciding to sign on for the role. In retrospect, this turned out to be a great move for the Unbreakable star.
