Bruce Willis: The Action-Movie Hero Who Almost Went Deaf Shooting Die Hard

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Walter Bruce Willis was born on March 19, 1955, in Germany. When he was 2, he moved to America with his parents.

He had a positive relationship with music since he was little. He played the harmonica and wanted to become a professional player. At the same time, he was also very lively and sociable in his youth.

He was popular among people, and friends loved his sense of humour. At the age of 18, he even became president of the student council. At the appointment ceremony, he promised to make his classmates laugh with his speeches.

Although Bruce seemed like a great joker, he had one great affliction in his youth – he stuttered. However, when he joined the drama club and took to the stage for the first time, he found that the flaw was gone. He began stuttering again as he climbed off the stage.

Bruce thought it was a miracle, so he decided to devote himself fully to acting. After graduating from high school, he continued to work as a factory worker, petrol station attendant or mechanic.

How did Bruce Willis lose part of his hearing?

He first came to the attention of the audience with his role in the television series Moonlighting. He wasn’t supposed to be cast at all because of his looks. The show’s creator saw potential, though, and gave him a chance. Bruce was also awarded an Emmy Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series thanks to Moonlighting.

Soon, another role came up, this time in the film Die Hard. Unfortunately, there was an accident during filming, from which Bruce still suffers the consequences to this day. During the scene, when Willis was under the table attacking the enemy, he fired a loud blank from the gun. But he didn’t put earplugs in beforehand. This caused him to lose approximately 2/3 of his hearing in his left ear.

Bruce Willis also won the Golden Raspberry award

Willis was also unmissable in the film Armageddon. He won the Golden Raspberry award for worst male actor in a leading role. Bruce has also appeared in other films such as The Fifth Element, Pulp Fiction and Sixth Sense, where he played a child psychiatrist. The cast in the last of these films were known to be a punishment. In the course of shooting another picture, he refused to continue. The only way to avoid paying the penalty was to take the role in the Sixth Sense.

To look his best for his roles, Bruce also had to do some hard training. In addition to many hours of cardio, he also undertook strength training. He regularly included, for example, Bulgarian Squats or Single Leg Deadlifts. In particular, he had to make a great effort to prepare for the last Die Hard movie. Being a little older, Willis found it all the more challenging to match the young actors. He wasn’t too concerned with the aesthetic side of training. The important thing for him was to have sufficient muscle to protect his bones during action scenes and stunts. In this way, he could minimize the risk of injury during filming. Even though Bruce can make the most of his training, he admits that he usually doesn’t want to exercise at all.

Other faces of Bruce Willis

Bruce Willis, however, is not just an actor and producer. He also wanted to make his mark in the music industry, so he started singing. He even released two studio albums, which found quite a number of fans in their time. I’m sure you’ll also be interested in Bruce Willis’ family life. He married actress Demi Moore in 1987 and they had three daughters together. But they divorced in 2000. Nine years later, Bruce married again, this time marrying model Emma Heming, with whom he has two daughters.

Although Bruce Willis is 66 in 2021, he’s certainly not planning on finishing with his acting career. So we can look forward to seeing what films he will surprise us with.

If there are fans of Bruce Willis and action movies amongst your friends, be sure to share this article with them. Perhaps they, too, will learn new information about this actor.

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