Bruce Willisis one of the greatest movie stars of his generation. The ultimate success story of going from an actor on a hit television show to a leading man action hero to eventually working with some of the best directors of the 1990s like Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, and M. Night Shyamalan. When audiences saw Bruce Willis, he was a welcome delight because he could do it all, from action to comedy. No part was too small for Bruce Willis because he made it big.
Update July 11, 2025: This article has been updated with even more incredible Bruce Willis movie moments byDanilo Raúl.
Unfortunately,Willis was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, and in 2022 he and his family made the decision he would retire from acting. While audiences are certainly sad to see Willis’s career come to an end and can hope he has the best life possible, fans can take comfort in the fact that Willis left behind an incredible career with great moments. Here are the most essential Bruce Willis moments in film.
13"Save your bullets; I got the loop!" -Looper(2012)
Looperis one of the best sci-fi films to date, and it showed the potential of Rian Johnson as an exciting science fiction storyteller. The film’s unique premise has several bounty hunters working for the Kansas City crime syndicate, taking care of targets sent to the past that must be removed from the future, as new technologies make it impossible to disappear bodies.
Bruce Willis plays old Joe, who is sent back from the future to be erased by his younger self. Present Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) fails to kill the target, and old Joe escapes. After being recaptured by Kid Blue, the crime syndicate wants to call present Joe to finish the hit. Old Joe takes advantage of this confusion to get free and kill everyone in the room without mercy.
12"You really are CIA!" -Red(2010)
Redis an action thriller directed by Robert Schwentke, based on a comic book series written by Warren Ellis. The film is famous for using a lot of jaded veterans in an excellent action setting. In this film, Bruce Willis plays former CIA Black Ops operative Frank Moses, living his best life in a quiet suburb and trying to score a date with Sarah Ross.
After a sudden hit takes place, scaring the living hell out of Sarah, Frank feels compelled to protect her, even after she bluntly rejects him. After Sarah is identified as an asset to get to Frank, she’s kidnapped, but Frank rescues her in the nick of time and takes out the tail assigned to follow him in one of the most stylish action scenes ever filmed.
11"Hey!" -Death Wish(2018)
InDeath Wish, a remake of the classic film by Charles Bronson, Bruce Willis takes the lead as surgeon Paul Kersey. Directed by Eli Roth, this movie is a total gore fest full of the splashy action sequences Roth is known for. After his wife is killed and his daughter is left comatose, Paul feels disenchanted with the slow progress of police work.
One night he gets a hold of a gun in the hospital he works for and uses the firearm for gun practice. After going for a walk one night, he spots a carjacking and processes to alert the perpetrators to let them know they have been seen. Their answer is gunfire which Paul quickly returns while being filmed by neighbors, earning him the internet nickname of The Grim Reaper.
10"Welcome to Montreal!" -The Whole Nine Yards (2000)
The Whole Nine Yardsis a superb comedy from 2000, directed by Jonathan Lynn. If there is something great about Bruce Willis, he has excellent comedic timing. Bruce plays mob hitman Jimmy “The Tulip” Tudeski, with co-stars Matthew Perry and Michael Clarke Duncan having some of the funniest bits in the movie. After Jimmy is tracked by Frankie Figs (Duncan), he makes Oz (Perry) bring him to their hotel.
Related:These Are the Best Bruce Willis Movies, Ranked
Oz leads the way as he has no choice but tries to escape the room, just to hit Figs in the chest and be sent to the floor. Both men stare at each other menacingly, building tension with each passing second… Until they break the ice with a laugh, asking for Oz to change his pants and go out for a good time.
9"Anybody Else Wants to Negotiate?" -The Fifth Element(1997)
The Fifth Elementis an underrated gem from the 90s, and every actor in this film did some of their best work ever. Directed by Luc Besson, in this movie, Bruce plays the jagged hero Korben Dallas, who finds himself as the reluctant protector of a Mondoshawans priest named Leelo. Their journey will take them on a space cruise to find a famous singer and get the four runes representing four different elements: wind, fire, earth, and water.
Priest Vito Cornelius goes along for the rise and manages to get himself kidnaped by the Mangalores, the hired muscle of the Zorg. Korben quickly identifies the species and recognizes they are bound to fight only if their leader does so. When the leader holds the priest hostage and asks for a negotiator, Korben kills the alien with a single headshot.
8Bruce Willis Plays Himself -Ocean’s Twelve(2004)
InOcean’s Twelve, Willis plays himself and unintentionally becomes part of the gang’s plot to steal a Fabergé Imperial Coronation Egg. The scene where Julia Roberts is playing Tess, trying to pass as actress Julia Roberts, is farcical excellence, but once Willis appears, everything goes into overdrive, and things get even better.
Roberts has an incredible performance when he sees him, as any big fan would, and their chemistry as real-life friends is proven. Willis was rumored to be on the casting list for Danny Ocean inOcean’s Eleven,so the fact that he accepted the role of playing himself here is even better.
7Harry’s Goodbye -Armageddon(1998)
Michael Bay’s movies might not be the ones where we think of great dramatic moments, butArmageddonwas different. When an asteroid is coming to destroy Earth, a group of oil drillers is asked to go to the rock and destroy it from the inside; the leader of that team is none other than Harry Stamper (Willis). The movie might have many action scenes and some strange logic (wouldn’t it be easier to train astronauts to drill?), but it also has one of Bruce Willis' best acting moments ever.
Harry has been the toughest of them all throughout the entire movie, but when someone must stay behind to detonate the nuclear bomb, and it’s A.J. (Ben Affleck) who takes the shortest straw, Willis' character decides to sacrifice himself so that A.J. and Harry’s daughter Grace (Liv Tyler), can have a future together. The goodbye scene with Affleck proves why Willis is a movie star; he might be tough, but he also has emotions and is not afraid to show them, giving his character humanity, love, and hope, with a few words and some glances, making it one of the most chill-inducing and emotional endings in any of Bay’s films.
6“I’m deputizing the little guy.” -Moonrise Kingdom(2012)
Wes Anderson is not the kind of director you think would work wonders with Willis, as their styles are worlds apart, butMoonrise Kingdomproved different. This film might be Willis' last great role, as he plays small-town police captain Duffy Sharp. When two young loves, Sam (Jared Gilman) and Suzy (Kara Hayward), disappear, it is up to him to find them.
This isone of Wes Anderson’s best moviesand the closest he’ll ever get to having a tough guy character in one of his films. Willis has a sense of humor in playing this idiosyncratic, small-town character. Shown perfectly in the scene where he gives a speech many police detectives could say while talking to a group of kid scouts, he gave it the needed authority and seriousness, even though the situation is pretty surreal.
5“Touch me again, and I’ll kill you.” -The Last Boy Scout(1991)
The Last Boy Scoutis a pure ’90s movie written by famous screenwriter Shane Black and directed by none other than Tony Scott. This buddy cop action movie, led by Bruce Willis and Damon Wayans, uses violence and jokey dialogue in spades. Willis' Joe Hallenbeck might be a descendant of his John McClane, but there are differences between both characters, as Joe is much more depressed (and depressing).
The scene in question proves how much disregard for human life this character has and how he follows through on his promises, creating a tough guy that, although might look and sound like theDie Hardhero, has nothing to do with him while also being just as lethal.
4The Pool Scene -Unbreakable(2000)
This might beM. Night Shyamalan’s best film, and is obviously with Bruce Willis, as the director always knew how to extract the actor’s best performances. InUnbreakable, Willis plays David Dunn, a man who, after a train accident, discovers he might have powers. While he starts understanding their limits and how he can help people, his relationship with both his wife and especially his kid improves. As with every powered man, he has an evil rival (Samuel L. Jackson) and his kryptonite, in this case, water. That’s why the pool scene is so important, as it shows Willis' character’s vulnerability and horror, and the actor plays it perfectly.
