Bruce Willis sometimes struggled with a stutter when he was in school. His classmates often made fun of him, sometimes resorting to insults. Now that Willis is a legit action hero, anyone would probably have a hard time finding one of his former classmates to make fun of him.

Born Walter Bruce Willis on March 19, 1955, Bruce Willis was the eldest of four children. He was born in Germany, where his military father fell in love with him and married local girl Marlene. Just two years after Bruce’s birth, his father returned to the United States with his new family in tow. They eventually settled in Carneys Point, New Jersey, where his mother would start working in a bank, while his father worked in a factory after leaving the military.

While in high school at Carneys Point, Willis found that his stutter disappeared while acting, so he took roles in school plays to help deal with his speech problem. He fell in love with acting, but after graduation he took a job at a local nuclear power plant instead of pursuing his love for it. After a few years of transporting ground crews for the plant and a brief stint as a private investigator, he decided he needed to get back into acting. Initially, he attended Montclair State University, where he appeared in various school productions. Since he was close to New York City, he decided to move to the metropolis to audition for the theater, he landed a few off-Broadway plays while making a living as a waiter between concerts.

Willis left New York City for Los Angeles in the early 1980s, but could only find uncredited television parts that did not require him to speak. In 1984, he finally landed a speaking role in a single episode of the series “Miami Vice.” He landed a few other supporting TV roles before landing the big job of David Addison on “Moonlighting,” the show that would make him a star. He played a private detective, a job in which he had some experience in his New Jersey home.

During the summer hiatus from “Moonlighting,” Willis was offered major roles in several films, helping to take him beyond the small screen to the big screen. He starred opposite Kim Basinger in the wacky rom-com “Blind Date,” which made him a romantic lead. He also took the lead role in the made-for-TV movie “The Return of Bruno,” which was tied in with a music album, the first of three Willis would eventually release in the late ’80s and early ’90s.

In 1988, Willis was unexpectedly cast in the film that would make him an action hero and send his already hot career sizzling. He took on the role of cop John McClane in 1988’s “Die Hard,” which would become a worldwide smash hit and spawn a franchise that has spanned two decades and continues. The series includes “Die Hard 2” in 1990, “Die Hard: With a Vengeance” in 1995, “Live Free or Die Hard” in 2007, and “A Good Day to Die Hard” in 2013.

As her star rose, she was as lucky in love as she was at the box office. He met and married fellow actress Demi Moore, who helped him quit drinking and was there when his career took off. Together they had three daughters, Rumer, Tallulah and Scout before divorcing in 2000 after thirteen years of marriage. They remained close friends for the sake of their daughters. Moore was present with her then-husband Ashton Kutcher when Willis took the plunge for a second time, marrying model Emma Henning in 2009. The couple have a daughter named Mabel, born in 2012.

After “Die Hard,” Willis would go on to play major action hero roles, most notably in “The Fifth Element” and “Armageddon.” Although most of his action roles were dramas, he also returned to comedy from time to time, appearing in “The Whole Nine Yards” opposite Matthew Perry, with whom he would work on three episodes of “Friends” the same year. .

Willis has acted steadily over the years, but since 2000 he has played many small roles in independent films, sometimes playing against his action movie brand. A great example of this is his role as Captain Sharp in “Moonlight Kingdom,” directed by Wes Anderson. Some thought he took these roles because he was now 50, but age is clearly just a number to Willis. In addition to “A Good Day to Die Hard” in 2013, Willis will also appear in “Sin City: A Dame to Kill For” and “American Assassins.” As he approaches 60, Willis may very well still be kicking ass and taking names.