American actor Bruce Willis began his career in 1980 with an uncredited role in The First Deadly Sin . After guest-starring in a 1984 episode of Miami Vice , he appeared in the first episode of the 1985 revival of The Twilight Zone. Willis achieved fame starring in the ABC comedy-drama series Moonlighting (1985–1989), for which he received three Golden Globe nominations for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy and two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. [1] [2] In 1988, he starred as John McClane in Die Hard (1988), a film that spawned four sequels that earned him international recognition as an action hero. [3]
In the following years, Willis lent his voice for the video game Apocalypse (1998), [4] the comedy film Look Who's Talking (1989), and its sequel Look Who's Talking Too (1990). In 1991, he conceived the story for Hudson Hawk , starred as Bo Weinberg in Billy Bathgate , and appeared in The Last Boy Scout alongside Damon Wayans, which earned a cult following and a nomination for the MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Duo. [5] Willis's additional credits include Pulp Fiction (1994), 12 Monkeys (1995), Last Man Standing (1996), The Fifth Element (1997), and Armageddon (1998). In 1999, he starred as Dr. Malcolm Crowe in the critically acclaimed The Sixth Sense (1999), which earned six Academy Award nominations. [6] His guest appearance on Friends in 2000 earned his third Emmy nomination, this time for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series. [2] After appearing in Sin City (2005) and voicing the lead character in the animated film Over the Hedge (2006), he starred in Red and made a cameo appearance in The Expendables (both 2010).
By the 2010s, Willis began starring in straight-to-video films that received mostly negative reviews from critics and moviegoers. [3] From The New York Times , Elisabeth Vincentelli analyzed several of his films and found that they generally lacked substance, with action sequences replacing "any attempts at coming up with decent plots", and featured Willis for an average of 15 minutes. [7] Willis has also starred in the 2012 films Moonrise Kingdom , The Expendables 2 , and Looper . In 2013, he made an appearance as the title character in G.I. Joe: Retaliation and hosted Saturday Night Live . Willis is also known for collaborating with writer and director M. Night Shyamalan in several of his films including the Eastrail 177 Trilogy consisting of Unbreakable (2000), Split (2016), and Glass (2019). In March 2022, Willis's family announced he was retiring from acting after he was diagnosed with aphasia, a diagnosis almost a year later revised to frontotemporal dementia. [8] [9] By the end of his career, the films he starred in had grossed over US$5 billion worldwide, making him one of the highest-grossing actors in the world. [10]
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1980 | A Guru Comes | Extra | Uncredited; television film | [136] |
1984 | Miami Vice | Tony Amato | Episode: "No Exit" | [137] |
1985–1989 | Moonlighting | David Addison | Main role | [138] |
1985 | The Twilight Zone | Peter Novins | Segment: "Shatterday" | [139] |
1987 | The Return of Bruno | Bruno Radolini | Also writer and executive producer; television film | [140] |
1989 | Roseanne | Himself | Uncredited cameo; episode: "Dear Mom and Dad" | [141] |
1989; 2013 | Saturday Night Live | Himself (host) | 2 episodes | [142] |
1996–1997 | Bruno the Kid | Bruno the Kid | Voice role; also developer and executive producer | [143] |
1997 | Mad About You | Himself | Episode: "The Birth Part 2" | [144] |
1999 | Ally McBeal | Dr. Nickle | Episode: "Love Unlimited" | [145] |
2000 | Friends | Paul Stevens | 3 episodes | [146] |
2004 | Touching Evil | — | Executive producer; 12 episodes | [147] |
2005 | That '70s Show | Vic | Episode: "Misfire" | [148] |
2018 | Comedy Central Roast | Himself | Television special | [149] |
Bumping Mics with Jeff Ross & Dave Attell | Himself | Episode: "Friday" | [150] | |
2019 | The Orville | Groogen | Uncredited voice role; episode: "Deflectors" | [151] |
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1984–1985; 1997 | Fool for Love | Eddie | Understudy (1st version) Also producer (2nd version) | [152] [153] [154] [155] |
2002 | True West | Lee | Also executive producer Filmed broadway play | [156] [157] |
2015–2016 | Misery | Paul Sheldon | 102 performances | [158] [159] |
2017 | Must | — | Producer only | [160] [161] |
2021 | My Mother's Severed Head | — | Producer only | [162] [163] |
Year | Title | Role | Artist | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1986 | Respect Yourself | Bruno | Himself | [164] |
2010 | Stylo | Assassin | Gorillaz | [165] |
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1998 | The Fifth Element | Korben Dallas | Voice role and likeness | [166] |
Apocalypse | Trey Kincaid | Voice role and likeness | [167] | |
Neve Adrianne Campbell is a Canadian actress. After working in Canadian and American television, Campbell emerged as a scream queen for her starring roles in horror and thriller films. She has also appeared in blockbusters and independent features.
Christopher Robert Evans is an American actor. He began his career with roles in television series such as Opposite Sex in 2000. Following appearances in several teen films, including 2001's Not Another Teen Movie, he gained attention for his portrayal of Marvel Comics character the Human Torch in Fantastic Four (2005) and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007). Evans made further appearances in film adaptations of comic books and graphic novels: TMNT (2007), Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010), and Snowpiercer (2013).
Robert De Niro is an American actor, director and producer. His early films included Greetings (1968), The Wedding Party (1969), Bloody Mama (1970), Hi, Mom! (1970), Jennifer on My Mind (1971), The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight (1971), and Mean Streets (1973). In 1974, De Niro was cast as the young Vito Corleone in The Godfather Part II. His performance in the film led him to win the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. After The Godfather Part II, he starred in Martin Scorsese's psychological drama Taxi Driver (1976). In the film, De Niro portrayed Travis Bickle, who is a lonely, depressed 26-year-old living in isolation in New York City. He won the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor, National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor, New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor, and he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. De Niro's "You talkin' to me?" dialogue was ranked number 10 on the American Film Institute's AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes. In 1978, De Niro appeared in Michael Cimino's war drama The Deer Hunter, a film based on a trio of steelworkers whose lives were changed forever after fighting in the Vietnam War. De Niro was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor.
Jai Stephen Courtney is an Australian actor. Born and raised in Sydney, Courtney started his career as a teenager with small roles in film and television, and studied acting at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. After early supporting roles in Hollywood projects, he gained recognition for playing Dauntless leader Eric Coulter in The Divergent Series (2014–2015), Kyle Reese in Terminator Genisys (2015), and supervillain Captain Boomerang in the DC Extended Universe films Suicide Squad (2016), The Suicide Squad (2021), and The Flash (2023). He received praise for his performance as a corrupt debt collector and the main antagonist in the independent film Buffaloed (2019).
Leonardo DiCaprio is an American actor who began his career performing as a child on television. He appeared on the shows The New Lassie (1989) and Santa Barbara (1990) and also had long-running roles in the comedy-drama Parenthood (1990) and the sitcom Growing Pains (1991). DiCaprio played Tobias "Toby" Wolff opposite Robert De Niro in the biographical coming-of-age drama This Boy's Life in 1993. In the same year, he had a supporting role as a developmentally disabled boy Arnie Grape in What's Eating Gilbert Grape, which earned him nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture. In 1995, DiCaprio played the leading roles of an American author Jim Carroll in The Basketball Diaries and the French poet Arthur Rimbaud in Total Eclipse. The following year he played Romeo Montague in the Baz Luhrmann-directed film Romeo + Juliet (1996). DiCaprio starred with Kate Winslet in the James Cameron-directed film Titanic (1997). The film became the highest grossing at the worldwide box-office, and made him famous globally. For his performance as Jack Dawson, he received the MTV Movie Award for Best Male Performance and his first nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama.
Julianne Moore is an American actress who made her acting debut on television in 1984 in the mystery series The Edge of Night. The following year she made her first appearance in the soap opera As the World Turns, which earned her a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Ingenue in a Drama Series in 1988. Following roles in television films, Moore had her breakthrough in Robert Altman's drama film Short Cuts (1993). Her performance garnered critical acclaim as well as notoriety for a monologue her character delivers while nude below the waist. She played lead roles in 1995 in Todd Haynes' drama Safe and the romantic comedy Nine Months. In 1997, Moore portrayed a veteran pornographic actress in Paul Thomas Anderson's drama film Boogie Nights, which earned her her first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She also appeared in Steven Spielberg's adventure sequel The Lost World: Jurassic Park—Moore's biggest commercial success to that point. Two years later, she played a wartime adulteress in The End of the Affair, for which she received her first Academy Award for Best Actress nomination.
Nicolas Cage is an American actor whose career began with a role in the 1981 television pilot The Best of Times. The following year, Cage made his feature film acting debut with a minor role in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, the second and last time he went by his birth name Nicolas Coppola, which he changed professionally to avoid allegations of nepotism due to his connection to the Coppola family. In 1983, Cage starred in the teen romantic comedy Valley Girl alongside Deborah Foreman and had a supporting role in his uncle Francis Ford Coppola's Rumble Fish.
American actor and producer Morgan Freeman has had a prolific career on film, television and on the stage. His film debut was as an uncredited character in the Sidney Lumet–directed drama The Pawnbroker in 1964. Freeman also made his stage debut in the same year by appearing in the musical Hello, Dolly! He followed this with further stage appearances in The Niggerlovers (1967), The Dozens (1969), Exhibition (1969), and the musical Purlie (1970–1971). He played various characters on the children's television series The Electric Company (1971–1977). Freeman subsequently appeared in the films Teachers in 1984, and Marie in 1985 before making his breakthrough with 1987's Street Smart. His role earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Two years later he appeared in war film Glory (1989), and starred as Hoke Coleburn in the comedy-drama Driving Miss Daisy (1989). Freeman won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his performance in the latter and also earned a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor.
American actor and filmmaker Ben Affleck began his career as a child, appearing in several television shows, including the PBS educational program The Voyage of the Mimi (1984). He played an antisemite in the sports film School Ties (1992) and featured as a regular on the television drama Against the Grain (1993). He gained attention for playing the supporting part of a high-school senior in Richard Linklater's cult film Dazed and Confused (1993), after which he had his first leading role in Rich Wilkes's comedy Glory Daze (1995). In 1997, Affleck played a comics artist in Smith's art-house success Chasing Amy. He co-wrote the script and starred with Matt Damon in Gus Van Sant's drama film Good Will Hunting, for which they won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.
Julia Roberts is an American actress and producer who made her debut in the 1987 direct-to-video feature Firehouse. She had her breakthrough the following year by starring in the coming-of-age film Mystic Pizza (1988). For her supporting role in the comedy-drama Steel Magnolias (1989), she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress. Roberts' next role was opposite Richard Gere in the highly successful romantic comedy Pretty Woman (1990), for which she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Musical or Comedy. In 1991, she appeared in the psychological thriller Sleeping with the Enemy, and played Tinker Bell in the Steven Spielberg-directed fantasy adventure Hook. Two years later, Roberts starred in the legal thriller The Pelican Brief, an adaptation of the John Grisham novel of the same name. During the late 1990s, she played the lead in the romantic comedies My Best Friend's Wedding (1997), Notting Hill (1999), and Runaway Bride (1999).
Keanu Reeves is a Canadian actor who has appeared in films, television series and video games. He made his film debut in the short One Step Away in 1985. The following year, Reeves appeared in the crime film River's Edge, and the television films Babes in Toyland, Act of Vengeance, and Brotherhood of Justice. His first lead role was as a teenager dealing with his best friend's suicide in the 1988 drama Permanent Record. His breakthrough role came when he played time-travelling slacker Ted "Theodore" Logan in the science fiction comedy Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989) with Alex Winter, which was an unexpected commercial success. Reeves followed this with a supporting role in Ron Howard's comedy Parenthood. In 1991 he starred in the action film Point Break with Patrick Swayze, the science fiction comedy sequel Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, and the independent drama My Own Private Idaho.
American actor, director, and producer John Malkovich has appeared in more than 70 motion pictures. He started acting in the 1980s, appearing in the films Places in the Heart (1984) with Sally Field, Death of a Salesman (1985), The Glass Menagerie (1987), Empire of the Sun (1987), and Dangerous Liaisons (1988) with Glenn Close. His role in Places in the Heart earned him an Academy Award nomination. During the 1990s, he starred in the films Of Mice and Men (1992) as Lennie Small, In the Line of Fire (1993) as Mitch Leary, Beyond the Clouds (1995) as The Director, The Portrait of a Lady (1996) as Gilbert Osmond, Con Air (1997) as Cyrus "The Virus" Grissom, The Man in the Iron Mask (1998) as Athos, Being John Malkovich (1999) as John Horatio Malkovich, and The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999) as Charles VII. His role as Mitch Leary in In the Line of Fire earned him his second Academy Award nomination.
Indian-American filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan began his career in 1992 with the student film Praying with Anger, which he wrote, directed, produced, and starred in. He then wrote the screenplays for the comedy movies Wide Awake and Stuart Little (1999). In 1999, he rose to prominence for writing and directing the supernatural movie The Sixth Sense, for which he received Academy Award nominations for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. He then wrote, directed, and produced the superhero movie Unbreakable, the first entry in the Eastrail 177 Trilogy followed by Split in 2016 and Glass in 2019.