Colourful Characters: Bruce Willis

From starring in Die Hard to Pulp Fiction to Looper, Bruce Willis is usually a pretty colourful character on screen. And he’s not bad off screen either.

If only for his role as John McClane in the Die Hard films, Bruce Willis would be a movie God. Among the best action films ever made, the Die Hard series, now up to number five courtesy of 2013’s A Good Day to Die Hard, is pretty much universally beloved, chiefly because of the grizzled copper played by Willis.

But the man born Walter Bruce Willis in Germany (his Da was a US soldier) in 1955 is much more than just a grumpy man in a vest. One look at Willis’ filmography and you have a list of crackers that any modern actor would find hard to beat.

Sure there are duds in there (we’re looking at you Hudson Hawk and Bonfire of the Vanities) but he has appeared in some of our all-time favourite flicks.

The Last Boy Scout, Pulp Fiction, 12 Monkeys, The Fifth Element, The Sixth Sense, Armageddon, Sin City and Looper are all great for different reasons. Willis is able to play hugely differing roles in all these films and still keep that Willis charisma. It’s a neat trick that only a few actors have and it means that we will usually go see anything he is in.

But Willis is pretty slick off the screen too. His marriage with Demi Moore broke down a few years back but the pair remain on very good terms, holidaying together and Willis even went to her wedding with Ashton Kutcher. That’s pretty classy.

On top of all that he makes regular appearances on the US late night talk shows, generally taking the piss out of himself, like in this Lady Gaga inspired bit below, and he doesn't seem to take himself, or his job, too seriously.

For somebody who has enjoyed so much success Willis seems fairly normal and down to earth and we’ll even forgive him is slightly bizarre attempts at a singing career. Heck, he even makes being bald look cool.

As role models for men heading rapidly towards 60 (he's 58 tomorrow), Bruce Willis is hard to beat. As colourful characters go, he certainly is too.