“I wouldn’t do that one again”: Bruce Willis Swore Never to Do 1 Die Hard Stunt Again After Calling it the “biggest stunt” of His Life
- Bruce Willis gained the reputation of an action star with his role in the Die Hard films.
- Willis opened up about the one stunt that he would not do again after he did it once in 1988's Die Hard.
- The Armageddon star was recently seen in an outing in Los Angeles with a huge smile on his face.
Bruce Willis had to retire from his acting career before his contemporaries due to his diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia. However, he has left a lasting legacy on the film industry with his leading roles in movies like the Die Hard film series and M. Night Shyamalan’s psychological thriller film, The Sixth Sense.
Out of all the work he has done, his Die Hard films remain the most popular ones to date. The stunts he did in those movies made him an established action star; the Tom Cruise of his generation. While all stunts come with some level of risk, there was one that he swore off after labeling it the “biggest stunt” of his life.
Bruce Willis Vowed to Avoid Doing 1 Particularly Dangerous Stunt That He Did in Die Hard
Bruce Willis established his name as a comedic actor with his role as David Addison Jr. in the TV series Moonlighting, which was aired from 1985 to 1989. His first lead role came in the 1987 romantic comedy, Blind Date. This movie’s director Blake Edwards also cast him as the Hollywood Western star Tom Mix in 1988’s Sunset.
The late 1980s were quite a ride for Willis as he gave one good performance after the other, enjoyed success as a recording artist, and worked as a voice artist for the rom-com franchise Look Who’s Talking. However, the highlight of those years remains the first Die Hard film, released in 1988.
The movie starred him as John McClane and most of the stunts featured in it were done by Willis. During an interview with Entertainment Tonight, the Pulp Fiction star opened up about the roof jump scene he had done.
The biggest stunt that I have ever done in my life is in that film. [..] I jumped off a building into about a 25-foot fall into an airbag, and they blew the roof of the building off, and there’s this 40-foot ball of flame behind me. Actually, had I had them show me the stunt before I did it, I probably wouldn’t have done it; I would have been too scared.
When asked if he would ever do something like that again, he did not hesitate in saying that he would not. The scene, indeed, does look terrifying since the building is quite tall and John jumps down with a firehose around his waist as the roof completely explodes. Luckily, things worked out and the movie spawned a blockbuster franchise.
Bruce Willis Was Recently Spotted on an Outing with a Beaming Smile
The world has not seen a lot of Bruce Willis in recent years due to his health struggles. His family shares updates about him every now and then through Instagram, but he is not seen much in public places. However, that changed recently when he was seen smiling as he rode in the passenger seat of a car in Los Angeles (via Metro).
In the last couple of years of his career, Willis began to show clear signs of struggle as he would often forget why he was at a certain place and had to be fed lines through an earpiece. In 2021, the Golden Raspberry Awards dedicated an entire category to him due to his poor performance in 8 movies released that year. However, they retracted the category after Willis’ family revealed that he was diagnosed with aphasia in early 2022.
In 2023, it was announced that he was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia which directly interferes with language and comprehension. His family has been hugely supportive of him in his difficult time. His wife Emma Heming Willis, and even ex-wife Demi Moore have often addressed his diagnosis and raised awareness about it.
Die Hard is available for streaming on Hulu.
