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Sure, Bruce Willis didn’t always have the greatest performances, however there is no doubt, the actor commanded quite the salary for years, and he brought fans to the movie theaters. However, his iconic performances seem to be a thing of the past, given his abrupt retirement following an aphasia diagnosis.
In the following, we’ll take a look at some significant roles Bruce Willis missed out on. As an actor, Willis could not audition for every role under the sun, but some he passed on ended up being huge successes. One the films generated huge Oscar buzz, getting nominated a total of 12 times, and winning 9 Oscars.
Willis was none too pleased on missing out on the role, and it all took place because of bad advice from his team. Let’s look back at how it all went down.
Bruce Willis Missed Out On The English Patient And Fired His Entire Team
Willis wanted the role of Canadian intelligence operative David “Moose” Caravaggio, a part that would eventually go to the talented Willem Dafoe instead.
Bruce Willis would instead opt for another action film in 1996, Last Man Standing. The film tends to be forgotten about when it comes to the actor’s epic run in the ’90s. It received little fan fare, bringing in $47 million at the box office and in addition, reviews for the film were mixed at best.
According to Giant Freakin’ Robot, a major reason for Willis turning down the project had to with his agent suggesting he pass on working with director Anthony Minghella, a choice Willis would soon regret.
After the call was made, Bruce would fire his team. “Willis says he passed on the film after being talked out of working with director Anthony Minghella by his agent. An unhappy Willis fired his agent shortly after,” Giant Freakin’ Robot writes.
Along with Oscar appear, The English Patient made a hefty $233 million at the box office, cementing its place as one of the top romantic war dramas of the decade.
The English Patient Was A Huge Success Winning Nine Oscars
The English Patient turned into a monster success with massive critical appeal. The film was the talk of the Academy Awards, nominated for 12 Oscars and bringing home 9 in total. Among the Oscar wins included best picture, director and supporting actress.
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In truth, the cast could have looked very different, not only was Bruce Willis in the running, but he could have potentially been joined by Demi Moore, who was wanted for the role of Katherine. Kristin Thomas would instead get the role, but according to the actress, it was not an easy experience.
Thomas revealed alongside The Guardian, “I’d read the novel and fallen totally in love with it. The poetry of the writing just swept me away. So when I heard there was going to be a film, I thought: “God, I have to get on it.”
She continued, “I gabbled away (at the lunch) and could see Anthony’s eyes glazing over. So afterwards I wrote him a letter saying: “Please just forget that terrible lunch. I am the K in your film. I got an audition and it was extraordinary.”
Thomas was able to get on the film, however, Willis wasn’t so lucky and in addition, the actor was not pleased with his team.
What Other Roles Did Bruce Willis Regret Turning Down?
The English Patient wasn’t Bruce’s only regret. He passed on a couple of significant scripts, one of which turned out to be the 1990 classic, Ghost. The film had massive appeal at the box office, generating $505 million. Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg highlighted an impeccable cast.
Ultimately, Willis turned down the script, given that he wasn’t exactly sure about the plot. He said, “I just didn’t get it,” Willis told the Times. “I said, ‘Hey, the guy’s dead. How are you gonna have a romance?’ Famous last words.”
He wasn’t the only one, as Demi Moore herself was also skeptical about the role, revealing that it was either going to be ‘really bad, or really good’. Ultimately, we have reason to believe she was happy with her decision, while the great Bruce Willis might have some additional regrets.
Willis also made the choice to turn down the film Training Day, which ultimately starred Denzel Washington in the role. The role awarded Washington with an Oscar, marking yet another film that Willis could have been a part of that won an Academy Award.
The now-retired actor has also spoken about passing on a role in George Clooney’s Ocean’s Eleven. When he read the script, the villain Andy Garcia was not yet fleshed out, so Willis ended up passing on the role. He did get the opportunity for a cameo role in the film’s sequel, but that was obviously not as rewarding as playing the villain in the first film. Willis likely would not have been paid much for the role anyway, since the budget for the film was reportedly just $85 million and Clooney was paid a large portion of that to star in the film.
