One of the best films of Bruce Willis’ career is the sci-fi thriller 12 Monkeys. The star was initially too proud for a scene in it, but then he gave in after all.
In his long career, action star Bruce Willis has also starred in one of the best sci-fi films of recent decades. This is 12 Monkeys by Terry Gilliam, in which the star travels back in time to prevent the extinction of billions of people due to a viral pandemic.
The blockbuster includes a scene in which Willis’ character falls to the ground after being kicked in the face. The actor didn’t want to shoot this moment at first
Bruce Willis didn’t want to shoot the 12 Monkeys scene at first
Collider has picked up on a set anecdote from the director to mark the 25th anniversary of the sci-fi thriller. In a Hollywood Reporter article, Gilliam recalls an incident during filming when it comes to the scene between Willis’ James Cole and Madeleine Stowe’s Kathryn Railly. In it, Cole captures the psychiatrist and locks her in a trunk. When he opens it, he gets kicked in the face, which Willis didn’t want to play at first:
And he said, ‘I wouldn’t go down.’ I said, ‘Stop it, Bruce! You’d fall over!’ He said, ‘No!’ That was one of the funniest moments. The stuntman said, ‘Yes, Bruce, you would fall over. And he said, ‘No, I wouldn’t.’ I said, ‘You’re not John McClane, stop it!
Gilliam then tried to ignore the star:
‘He went off and sulked by a tree, and I just kept shooting without him, and eventually he came back. ‘OK. Yeah, I’ll do it. It’s bullshit.’ That was really the only difficult moment.
Watch another German 12 Monkeys trailer here:
