Macho or mushy: How do you like your Bruce?

Bruce Willis was never loud on screen – a lot of his acting talent was displayed via his smile and his eyes. (Illustration by Suneesh K.)

So many Bruces in the entertainment industry! Springsteen who sings, Lee who fought, and Willis who gave us action films. As an audience we are grateful for every Bruce we got, but if any one of the Bruces asks for time off, we have to let go.

Bruce Willis is one leading man who has appeared in age-defying films like Die Hard and Armageddon. There is also a creepy smile he can bring to the scene, as he did in Perfect Stranger while chatting up Halle Berry’s character. Everyone has a favourite Bruce to pick from the over hundred films he starred in.

Apparently, he had a stutter as a child, was nicknamed Buck-Buck in school, and lost the stutter when he took to stage. We all know he was married to Demi Moore before they divorced and she married Ashton Kutcher who then went on to marry Mila Kunis who used to date Macaulay Culkin who is now with Brenda Song. And if that sounds like Hollywood’s who’s who, you heard right.

We like him because he never wore a wig – his baldness is a part of who he is. We like him because he has five daughters – there’s something about a man who can only produce girls. We like him because he isn’t loud on screen – a lot of his acting talent was displayed via his smile and eyes. So, yes, we like him.

We can never forget him as the child psychologist who spoke oh so gently to a very young Haley Joel Osment in a movie written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan in 1999, The Sixth Sense. Which gave us an ending we discussed for days afterwards, with Bruce stealing the show by proving to every viewer that they did not possess a sixth sense.

And then he was in those unforgettable episodes of Friends. As Ross’s young girlfriend’s dad, he stole hearts and also won awards. If he had married Rachel and Ross had married Elizabeth, there would be no Ross-Rachel drama for Rachel would have been Ross’ mother-in-law. Bruce just did not do that to us.

Time was when celebrities in the fields of politics, art and cinema stepped away from the limelight mumbling something about spending time with grandkids or just taking it easy. After all, artists don’t really retire like, say, sportspeople or bureaucrats. All the more reason why we appreciate this honesty from Bruce Willis’ family about him quitting acting due to health issues. They have given no excuse but the truth about his medical condition – aphasia that affects communication abilities.

We will miss all the Bruces he’s been. From a Bruce we literally met on a Blind Date in 1987, his first film as a hero, where he memorably asks, ‘Are we talking a loss of inhibitions here, or does she pee on the floor?’ To a Bruce whose line from The Last Boy Scout works even today, especially today: ‘This is the 90s. You can’t just walk up and slap a guy. You have to say something cool first.’

Also read: All about aphasia, the condition actor Bruce Willis has been diagnosed with