(CNN Spanish) — More than 140 roles and more than 20 awards: the long career of Bruce Willis, who suffers from frontotemporal dementia, marked generations of film enthusiasts.
Here, a review of his most iconic roles from the mythical “Die Hard”, which began in the 80’s, to the suspense of “The Sixth Sense”.
John McClane en “Die Hard”
Bruce Willis’s consecration came in 1988 with “Die Hard”, in which he played New York Police Department agent John McClane, who tries to save his wife and other people who were taken hostage by a German terrorist in a Christmas party in a Los Angeles building.
Until then, explains the specialized film site IMDb, Willis was mainly known for his comedic role in the television series “Moonlighting” (1985) so people thought that the film would be a comedy when the first trailers were released. The production even removed Willis’s face from the billboards so as not to create that expectation, eventually reintroducing it when the film was released and did well. It had four sequels. And from there the name of Willis is synonymous with action hero.
Butch Coolidge en “Pulp Fiction”
Years later, in 1994, Willis gave life to Butch Coolidge in “Pulp Fiction”, the mythical thriller directed by Quentin Tarantino, in which he plays a retired ex-boxer in conflict with the mobster Marsellus Wallace and who will do whatever is necessary to retrieve your watch.
James Cole en “Twelve Monkeys”
In 1995, Willis played James Cole in “Twelve Monkeys”, a convict living in an apocalyptic future set in 2035, who is sent along with another group of inmates on a journey into the past to find out the origin of a deadly virus that it nearly wiped out humans.
Corben Dallas and “The Fifth Element”
In 1997 Willis gives life to the ex-special forces agent turned taxi driver Korben Dallas, who will be immersed in a fight to save the Earth. In the mission of the film directed by Luc Besson, the character of a woman whom Dallas meets in his taxi, played by Milla Jovovich, will be key. “The Fifth Element” has become a cult sci-fi classic.
Harry S. Stamper an “Armageddon”
Bruce Willis (center) leads an oil rig crew to blow up an asteroid before it hits Earth.
Four years later, in “Armageddon”, Bruce Willis becomes Harry S. Stamper, an oil driller who is asked by NASA to intervene to stop an asteroid that is going to hit the earth in a few days. The lives of millions depend on Stamper’s work, at the head of a team that also included Ben Affleck. The best of Michael Bay with the most famous actors of the moment and a film that marked a generation.
Malcom Crowe en “The Sixth Sense”
(Getty Images)
Another milestone for Willis came with the 1999 thriller “The Sixth Sense.” Bruce Willis plays child psychologist Malcolm Crowe, who accompanies little Cole Sear, traumatized by apparitions he can’t explain, until an unexpected truth is revealed. . One of the biggest twists in movie history and a role that showcased Willis’s interpretative diversity.
Bonus track: Bruce Willis en “Friends”
Bruce Willis established himself on the big screen, but his fans, and those of the “Friends” series, will also fondly remember the role of Paul Stevens, Rachel’s boyfriend and Ross’s father-in-law, for which the actor won an Emmy.
With information from Sebastián Jiménez Valencia and Ángela Reyes Haczek.
