You can't have a great science fiction action film without an action star, and that's where Bruce Willis comes in. Willis was tapped to play the lead, Korben Dallas, a retired Major in Earth's Special Forces. He stumbles into the plot when Leeloo crashes into his cab, completely upending his plans for the day. Willis was already a well-established member of the action movie community when he was cast, having headlined the "Die Hard" franchise and dozens of other films since the 1980s.
After wrapping up his work on "The Fifth Element," Willis kept his winning streak going with "Armageddon," "The Sixth Sense," and "Unbreakable." Willis returned to the small screen in 2000, appearing in a handful of "Friends" episodes, which earned him his second Emmy Award for outstanding guest actor in a comedy series. Throughout his career, he's taken home numerous accolades, including a Golden Globe, People's Choice Awards, and more.
Willis remained popular throughout the 2000s and 2010s, though many of his later films were released direct-to-video and weren't well received. In March of 2022, Willis' family released a joint statement on their social media accounts, explaining the action star was retiring following a diagnosis of aphasia. Willis' aphasia was diminishing his cognitive faculties, making further work impossible. According to CNN, in May 2023, Willis' wife Emma Hemming updated fans on her husband's dementia, explaining that he had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia. Unfortunately, there is no cure for the condition.
