35 years ago, Die Hard made its way into theaters, becoming one of the highest-grossing films of 1988 and quickly transforming Bruce Willis into an action star success. As some still seek to settle whether it's a Christmas movie, others simply look back at the film as one of the seminal flicks in the beloved actor's filmography. Willis was forced to retire from acting due to the health condition that was eventually re-diagnosed as Frontotemporal Dementia, and his “proud” wife, Emma Heming Willis, has been supporting him throughout. And more recently, she shared sweet footage of her husband revisiting his classic film franchise's legacy on its 35th anniversary.
Emma Heming Willis has been a real trooper amid her husband's health issues. Her aim has to been to find light in dark places, and she's shared a number of motivational social media posts. She recently posted to Instagram, sharing a throwback video of her husband from 2018. At that time, he visited the 20th Century Studios lot and saw the Die Hard archives with his two young daughters. You can check out the heartwarming post below:
The sweet throwback footage shows Bruce Willis driving his then-11-year daughter Mabel and 8-year-old daughter Evelyn through the lot in his cart. We see him walking hand in hand with his girls as well as the kids checking out the archives, props and the giant mural of his own John McClane, which was unveiled to the actor in 2013 to commemorate the 25th anniversary. The family has a lot of love for the action franchise, it seems. Just recently, Emma and their daughters also celebrated Bruce by taking pictures of themselves with his wax figure at Madame Tussauds.
Emma Heming Willis has not sugarcoated what her and her family’s live's have been like since her husband’s diagnosis. Around the time that news first broke about the Moonrise Kingdom star’s condition, she spoke about struggling to care for her family and the toll it’s taken on her mental health. Despite any obstacles Heming Willis has been facing during this time, she’s also posted upbeat messages about her hubby. She highlighted the things he would tell her that’s kept her grounded and honored the actor on his birthday. As the devoted wife reflected on Die Hard, she wrote a proud message in her Instagram story:
We are so proud of him. What he’s accomplished in his life will never ever be lost on us.
It’s hard to believe that the expectations for Die Hard were low, especially since Bruce Willis wasn't considered a bankable star at that point. He wasn't even featured heavily in the marketing campaign, with the Los Angeles skyscraper at the center of the movie being the focal point. Before landing the summer blockbuster flick, Willis was the television star of Moonlighting and only had the two movies -- Blind Date and Sunset -- under his belt. But in an unexpected twist, the John McTiernan-directed film defied predictions by becoming the tenth highest-grossing film of 1988 and the high-grossing action film at that time. With all of that in mind, it's amazing that Willis can, in more recent years, enjoy the results of that success with his "proud" wife and kids.
We can all celebrate Die Hard’s 35th anniversary by watching the box office hit using a Hulu subscription. And for information on more recent action films, check out the schedule of 2023 new movie releases.
