Famed action star Bruce Willis has stepped away from acting after he was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, a condition where the actor found it difficult to express himself or understand his surroundings as a result of brain damage.
Throughout his lengthy career, Willis took on roles that proved him one of the best Hollywood action stars. He rose to fame for his portrayal of John McClane in the Die Hard franchise. The fourth installment, released in 2007, was a box office success, although the preparation and production did not look as thrilling and exciting for the lead star.
Bruce Willis Reveals His Favorite Moment From Die Hard 4
Live Free or Die Hard, also known as Die Hard 4, was helmed by Len Wiseman. The movie grossed over $388 million against a massive budget of $110 million, proving that the hype around the franchise was still quite strong despite the years.
Although he liked the script, Bruce Willis shared in an interview with Rotten Tomatoes that the behind-the-scenes was physically draining. He revealed his favorite experience from the production and said “when it was over”:
“When it was done. It was hard, it was a really difficult shoot, physically, and it was just a tough schedule. We had a lot of nights, and we’d go back and forth from one week of nights, to one week of days, which is a difficult thing. It’s like being jet-lagged all the time. The director got an ulcer. He never slept, just working all the time.”
Willis admitted that the reason for his fatigue was mainly due to exhaustion, as the majority of the stunts were real and done without the aid of CGI effects:
“The thing that I think makes this different from other films that are out right now, especially films that are out this summer, is that 90 percent of the stunts that are in this film are real stunts, or real guys, real stuntmen, real cars.”
The 68-year-old Armageddon star confessed his love for the franchise and shared what he likes about portraying John McClane:
“I like the sensibility of this character. I like his attitude, his lack of respect for authority, I think, is the thing that is most in line with my South Jersey sensibility. And why I was talking about the mythology of ‘Die Hard’ is that there are certain things, there are certain elements that the audience expects from John McClane that happen in this film.”
Along with the film’s box office success, Live Free or Die Hard was also nominated for Best Action/Adventure at the National Movie Award UK and Best International Movie at the MTV Movie Awards.
Bruce Willis Bids Goodbye To Making Action Films
Bruce Willis’ announcement of his retirement from acting in 2022 came as a shock to many fans. His family revealed that prior to this event, he was already suffering from aphasia. Last March, Willis’ final movie project, Assassin, was released, marking the end of his lengthy and stellar career in Hollywood.
In the last three years alone, he appeared in more than 20 films. Since his diagnosis, these projects were released directly through Video on Demand (VOD).
Die Hard 4 and Assassin is available to stream via Prime Video and Netflix.
Source: Rotten Tomatoes
