Bruce Willis held responsible for multiple takes while filming 'Die Hard' as he 'was just hilarious'

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Bruce Willis received overwhelming praise for his performance in ‘Die Hard'. This movie launched his massive stardom as an action star.

Thirty five years after the release of ‘Die Hard’, director/cinematographer Jan de Bont opened up about working with Willis.

Appearing on the ‘A Cinematic Christmas Journey’, de Bont sat down with co-host Peter Billingsley to share his experience of working with Willis.

Gracing the guest’s chair, de Bont reflected on the movie that obtained the status of a cult classic despite being not a conventional Christmas movie.

The 68-year-old actor, who is currently battling dementia, added extra charm to the set of the movie, which was otherwise filled with high-octane thrill and action, said de Bont. 

He admitted to the Billingsley, "Bruce was so funny," before adding, "I broke a few takes by laughing because he was just hilarious," per OK! Magazine.

Peter Billingsley shares his views on Bruce Willis

During a recent interview with People, ‘A Cinematic Christmas Journey’ co-host Peter Billingsley opened up about his discussion with Jan de Bont about Willis' lasting impact on the movie.

Billingsley, who famously appeared in the 1983 film 'A Christmas Story', shared with the outlet, "[Director] John McTiernan and Jan had just felt it had become these invincible guys against the faceless enemy, and they'd mow through them, or they were boilerplate terrorists, but the genre got a bit stale and they really wanted to create that everyman."

He added, "Bruce was perfect for that because he was just so warm and funny."

The 52-year-old former child star opined de Bont was focused on "finding those comedic moments", which made his experience of filming 'Die Hard' "very different for an action movie."

Billingsley recounted de Bont and added, "He said he hid lights when they were building and creating all the sets on the floors, he just hid lights everywhere so he could turn them on."

"So he could say to Bruce, 'You can go wherever you want. You can walk wherever you want to, and I can photograph you,' which is not common, especially in an action movie. Because you would really map it out — everyone knows where you're going to walk, what the shot is, but they shot it a little more like an indie comedy. Like, walk in the space and find the scene and find the moment," continued Billingsley.

 Billingsley said that according to de Bont, Willis "really, really embraced that" technique on 'Die Hard', adding, "He said it took a couple days, because [Bruce] was very used to working on 'Moonlighting', which was a more structured TV show."

He continued, "[Bruce was] like, 'Wait, I can just kind of do whatever I want?' And [Jan was] like, 'Yeah, whatever you want, and I'll find you, and just find the life in the moment'."

The filmmaker too recounted de Bont's story of breaking into laughs in the set, while adding a few instances.

Billingsley recounted, "That famous one in the elevator shaft, [where] Bruce says, 'Come up to the coast, we'll have some laughs.' They were on a cell phone and the writer was calling up different versions of that line. They shot like five or six of them, a few of which made Jan laugh and ruin the takes, and then that was the one that they went with."

On a concluding note, the 'Christmas with the Campbells' producer observed, "It's fun, and I think people, especially [with] Christmas movies, love revisiting them. And especially seeing how much they've connected with audiences, they enjoy the process of reliving that movie as well."

Bruce Willis' family is celebrating Christmas together

While tales of a younger Bruce Willis from the 'Die Hard' set warm the hearts of any film lover, the 'Pulp Fiction' actor's recent diagnosis with frontotemporal dementia has added a touch of woe.

Recently, an insider shared that Bruce Willis is expected to spend the holidays together wth his family that includes his five daughters and his wife Emma Heming. Willis' former spoouse Demi Moore is also set to join the family during the holidays. 

Per OK! Magazine, the soure stated, "Christmas will be very special for the family this year. And bittersweet, too."

Another insider explained despite the anxiety regarding Willis' health, it has "brought the whole family closer together" as they come together to support Bruce Willis amid the hard times.

The insider added, "It’s heartbreaking as his memory gets worse, but his love never falters. His eyes still light up around his loved ones, who cherish every single day with Bruce," before adding, "But this Christmas just feels different, because — you never know — it could be his last."