Bruce Willis Biography

NAME: Bruce Willis

OCCUPATION: Film Actor, Theater Actor, Television Actor

BIRTH DATE: March 19, 1955 (Age: 56)

EDUCATION: Montclair State University in New Jersey

PLACE OF BIRTH: Germany

Film actor, born on March 19, 1955 in West Germany. Bruce Willis—the name on his birth certificate is actually Walter Bruce Willison—is the oldest of David and Marlene Williston's four children, a group that includes three sons and a daughter. Initially an Army brat—his father was stationed in the West German town of Ida-Oberstein—Willis moved with his family to Carney's Point, New Jersey, in 1957 following his father's discharge.

In 1984, after replacing Ed Harris in the off-Broadway hit, Fool for Love, Willis headed west to Hollywood to audition for the Madonna vehicle, Desperately Seeking Susan. He didn't get the part, but in a decision that would prove to be incredibly smart, stuck around an extra day so that he could audition for a new romantic comedy called Moonlighting, set to debut the following March on ABC.

A raffish performer whose relaxed style and working-class persona made him an indelible favorite during his star-making turn on the quirky detective series, "Moonlighting" (ABC, 1985-89), actor Bruce Willis used his cocky charm and insatiable will to become one of the biggest movie stars in the world. A surprisingly versatile performer, Willis hit his peak as an action hero during the late 1980s and early 1990s, especially as the star of the behemoth hit "Die Hard" (1988). Proving he was more than a one-note song, Willis put his acting chops on display as Butch, the washed-up pugilist in director Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction" (1994). His career hit a bumpy road, however, as he approached middle age - around the same time his fabled marriage to fellow A-lister Demi Moore came to an end. But Willis later reinvented himself as a lead of serious dramas, especially with an impressive turn as haunted psychiatrist Dr. Malcolm Crowe in director M. Night Shyamalan's landmark thriller, "The Sixth Sense" (1999). Willis would continue his association with Shyamalan well into the next decade, refining his image as a venerable actor with true talent - and enough of a sense of humor to return to his "Die Hard," once again starring as a middle-aged John McClain in "Live Free or Die Hard" (2007).