Thank you, Bruce Willis: He reinvented Hollywood action heroism

The longtime leading man didn't get enough credit for his acting ability

Fact: Bruce Willis was never nominated for an Academy Award. That’s not a heinous omission off the top of the head, but definitely leaves you thinking Hollywood and the world of consumers underestimated him greatly. They will definitely have time to catch up now.

The real sad news this past week was the diagnosis of aphasia, a brain disorder that impairs speech, affecting a person’s ability to express and understand written and spoken language. One’s cognitive abilities aren’t disabled, but impaired. Once news of Willis’ diagnosis spread around town, several former cast and crew co-workers chimed in with their “Bruce wasn’t all there” stories, all of which just made me even more sad.

After all, I grew up on his movies. He was the guy who overcame adversity to become the star of “Die Hard.” The studio felt it was a big gamble to cast a comedy leading man in an action hero role, even pulling his face from the poster after a trailer elicited the wrong kind of laughter. Well, in the end, history paints John McTiernan’s film as one of the best action films of all time and Willis anchored it all.

He was the special ingredient in many action comedies/thrillers and a few dramas, with M. Night Shyamalan’s Sixth Sense and Unbreakable right at the top of the list. I like the latter better, even with the “I see dead people” master twist. There was something reluctantly soulful about David Dunn, a man who survives an awful train accident and discovers he has superpowers: ones he never knew were there. The three act whammy was one of Night’s best cohesive screenplays, but his star was the driving force.

While you could chop off the last 24 films from his IMDB resume-2019’s Motherless Brooklyn and Glass were his last mainstream roles-there’s still so much to cherish and revisit.

Richard Donner’s 16 Blocks is in the top 5 for me. It reshaped Willis’ on screen persona, both literally and figuratively. Playing an alcoholic, over the hill and out of shape cop who may or may not be corrupt, he shined opposite Mos Def and David Morse. He had to get Def’s key witness across town to court without either of them dying. The movie’s central heartfelt theme was about the idea that people can actually change in the middle of their life, against historical perception.

The worst part about change is when we aren’t ready for a change in our bodies.

None of us are ready to acknowledge when something is wrong with us. The warnings and sirens are going off, but we act deaf to them. Human beings being naturally stubborn plays a big part, but we all know the trajectory of life’s bitter sweetness. Willis most likely attributed his loss in speech and communication to older age (he is 67), denying anything else more serious was afoot. A normal human reaction to the gradual slip of things we were once able to do easily.

Imagine Willis’ condition in a line of work where scripts and action have to be memorized, with cues and leads needing to be registered and remembered. How does one transcend that sort of change without delay or pause? His retirement this week is another confirmation that due to the brain’s unpredictable methods, the condition was diagnosed rather late.

That doesn’t take a shred of dignity away from the prime years of Willis. Die Hard 2 and 3 were great entertainment and Last Boy Scout remains an indelible treat, but Sixth Sense proved understated grace could be his friend too. Acting opposite Toni Collette and a very young Haley Joel Osment, Willis played a child psychologist who helps Osment’s kid describe the odd condition he’s found himself in. Like he did with Def in 16 Blocks, Willis created a comfortable and inviting cinematic partnership with his co-star, carrying the movie to higher ground.

The late 80s through the early 2000s were his stomping ground in Hollywood. Willis couldn’t miss back then, even playing the irritating heel in Robert Benton’s Nobody’s Fool. Playing Carl Roebuck, the naggy boss of Paul Newman’s small town favorite, the actor gleefully leaned into the role and turned his charm inside out until it became repulsive, which was what Benton’s movie needed in order to work.

Few could forget his mobster with a heart of gold in The Whole Nine Yards, nor could I forget to laugh when thinking about the easy-to-plead Red movies. Willis’ Hartigan in Robert Rodriguez’s Sin City movies cut through the comic book noir, and 2012’s Looper remains strong due to his on screen edgy chemistry with co-star, Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Will he come back? Depends on the advancement of modern medicine and his recovery. As he dove headfirst into the endless pit of Walmart $5 bin turds over the past 6-8 years, I held out hope for a Bruno comeback. Some great supporting roles in an indie with a gifted director who knew how to use the star. With M. Night’s momentum lately, I thought he could reteam with Willis for a fifth film.

My best guess would be that he’s done. Again, he’s not a spring chicken and can find care and love in his own home. “Live it up,” according to his ex-wife Demi Moore and their children, is Bruce’s favorite saying. If I were him, that’s what I would spend the rest of my days doing.

The truth is, while he left too soon without a solid cherry on top of the career, Willis did leave us a laundry list of gems to revisit. Being sad about something means you cared enough to take a moment.

Let the Bruce Willis movie classics binge begin.

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(Photo Credit: Buena Vista Pictures Distribution.)