``Twelve Monkeys'' Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt threw themselves into Gilliam's world for a cheap price.

To a place far away from Inspector McClane

So how did Bruce Willis end up being cast in the film?

Looking at his work from this period, we can see that he was making a desperate effort to shake off the image that had been established through the " Die Hard " series. Gilliam also commented, " Pulp Fiction (1994) opened this little door. He had proven something there, and so he wanted to go further." (*2)

Gilliam and Willis first met during the filming of The Time Bandits . Although Willis was not cast in the film, the two first spoke during the casting process. At that time, what particularly captured Gilliam's heart was a secret story that Willis told about the filming of Die Hard.

When Gilliam said, "I love the scene where Detective McClane calls his wife and cries while removing the glass stuck in his leg," Willis confessed, "Actually, I was the one who suggested that he cry in this scene." Through this series of exchanges, Gilliam became convinced that Willis is not just a macho actor, but a talented actor who can also express inner "weakness."

“Twelve Monkeys” © Photofest / Getty Images

When Willis heard about the development of "Twelve Monkeys," he sent a passionate love call to Gilliam, and as a result, he agreed to appear in the film for almost nothing, considering that it was a big star like him.

It can be said that the results were "full." Willis' character in this film breaks through the shell of "McClane" and can truly be called a new frontier. There are no unnecessary movements, and lines are kept to a minimum, but he expresses emotions never before seen, revealing what is hidden in his heart. The keywords are confusion, bewilderment, weakness, defenselessness, and emptiness. There is no trace of the immortal man in the film. As Willis wished, Gilliam has led him to a landscape he has never seen before.

From “the sexiest man” to a high-spirited man with his butt exposed