For more than forty years, Bruce Willis has captivated audiences with his memorable portrayals of iconic, often egotistical, characters on both the big and small screens.
Willis first gained attention as the quick-witted detective David Addison in the TV show Moonlighting. He later took on the role of Paul Stevens in Friends, hosted Saturday Night Live on two occasions, and starred in Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction.
However, the role that perhaps defines Willis the most is that of the sharp-tongued vigilante John McClane in the Die Hard series.
In the inaugural entry of John McTiernan’s Die Hard franchise, Willis plays a New York City detective caught up in a terrorist siege.
Hoping to reconcile with his estranged wife Holly Gennaro-McClane (played by Bonnie Bedelia) on Christmas Eve, McClane must contend with terrorists who take control of a Los Angeles skyscraper known as Nakatomi Plaza.
In Die Hard 2, McClane faces another crisis when terrorists seize control of the air traffic system at Washington Dulles International Airport, just as his wife’s flight is about to land.
Subsequent films in the series followed a similar pattern, but few are aware that Willis once made a vow during the filming of the franchise—a vow he would break over thirty years later.
In July 2022, Willis, now retired and diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD), marked the 34th anniversary of Die Hard by revisiting the iconic skyscraper featured in the first film.
The setting, Fox Plaza in Century City, was used as the backdrop for Nakatomi Plaza in the original movie. In that film, McClane swore he would ‘never even think about going up in a tall building again.’
In a black-and-white Instagram post shared by his wife Emma Heming Willis, 46, the actor from 12 Monkeys is seen overlooking the Los Angeles skyline from the top of the structure.
“Nakatomi Plaza 34 years later,” she captioned. The post included a montage showcasing some of Willis’ standout moments from the film.
In March 2022, Willis’ family announced that he would be retiring due to a brain disorder known as aphasia, which affects his cognitive functions.
By February 2023, his family revealed a clear diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia.
In September, Willis’ daughter Tallulah, 30, who starred in The Whole Ten Yards, shared that her father was currently in a ‘stable’ condition.
“He’s doing stable, which, in this situation is good and is hard,” she mentioned on Today. “There’s painful days, but there’s so much love. It’s taught me not to take any moment for granted, and I believe we’d be best friends. I think he’s very proud of me. You have to be in the moment. You have to be present.”