Bruce Willis

In this action thriller, Willis plays Police Chief Jeff Talley. During a failed robbery, thieves hold a homeowner and his children hostage. Talley is informed that the man – Walter Smith, played by Kevin Pollak – is wanted by the FBI for money laundering. While Talley attempts to take possession of a DVD of incriminating information from the hostage scene, Tally’s own wife and daughter are taken hostage by Smith’s associates. Directed by Florent-Emilio Siri. On his character:

This guy is emotionally crushed. I couldn’t have done this film 18 years ago without being a father having that emotional weight… It’s horrific to think about having your kids taken away from you.

In this sequel, directed by Howard Deutch, to the 2000 comedy film The Whole Nine Yards, Willis plays Jimmy “The Tulip” Tudeski, a former criminal. Jimmy and his wife Jill (Amanda Peet), live in Mexico to hide from a crime boss intent on killing Jimmy. Jill gets a job as a hit woman, and the two eventually travel to Los Angelos to help their old friend Oz – played by Mathew Perry – rescue his wife from kidnappers. On improvising comic scenes with Perry:

I think that we understand timing. For me, I can attribute that to two things. To the sixth, seventh and eighth grade when I was entertaining my class, all through high school actually. And the other thing is from working with TV. When you work on TV every day, your goal is to try to make people laugh and be funny. You become adept at paying attention to where the joke falls. How long to hold a take. We just fool around on the set and try to get it to where it just looks natural and sounds natural.

In this animated film based on the Nickelodeon animated television series Rugrats and The Wild Thornberrys, Willis performs the voice for Spike, a dog. The Rugrats are shipwrecked on a deserted island, where they encounter the Thornberrys, who are on the island to film a documentary. At every screening of this film, members of the audience were provided with scratch and sniff cards to use at very junctures in the story line, in order to experience six different scents as part of the viewing experience.

I suppose they chose me for the role of Spike because of a perceived attitude I project. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get any inspiration from Bella [his own dog] because she can’t talk — at least I don’t think she can. But seriously, it’s great to be a part of something that’s fun for the whole family.

In this family film initially released in Germany as Buddy’s World, Willis plays Mr Blandford – a wealthy man who buys a prize calf. The calf’s owner Buddy, played by Jacob Fisher, is overjoyed when his pet named Hokey wins show after show, until he realizes the final destination for the calf is a meat factory. Buddy and his family kidnap the calf from Blanford to save it from its dire fate. Director Barry Tubb says on casting Willis:

He finally wanted to be in something his children could see.

In this crime comedy directed by Jonathan Lynn, Willis plays Jimmy “The Tulip” Tudeski – a former Chicago mobster and released convict who moves into a quiet suburban neighborhood. Jimmy’s neighbor Oz, played by Matthew Perry, reveals Jimmy’s whereabouts to his old crime boss Janni, played by Kevin Pollack. About costar Kevin Pollack:

It’s really great to work with people that you’ve already worked with. There’s a shorthand, you know them, you know you can suggest things back and forth and have that creative free flow of information. And Kevin is incredibly funny.

Willis stars as an assassin who is hired to murder a political figure in Russia by the FBI after the political figure’s brother threatens to get revenge. Directed by Michael Caton-Jones, co-starring Sidney Poitier and Richard Geer.