20th Century Fox

Samuel L. Jackson shares the advice that Bruce Willis gave him while filming 'Die Hard With a Vengeance'

By Sophia Soto | Last updated Mar 21, 2025 5:56 PM ET

In honor of Bruce Willis' 70th birthday, his Die Hard With a Vengeance co-star Samuel L. Jackson paid tribute to the actor in an interview with Vanity Fair.

"He told me, 'Hopefully you’ll be able to find a character that, when you make bad movies and they don’t make any money, you can always go back to this character everybody loves.' He said, 'Arnold’s got Terminator. Sylvester’s got Rocky, Rambo. I’ve got John McClane.' I’m like, 'Oh, okay.' And it didn’t occur to me until I got that Nick Fury role—and I had a nine-picture deal to be Nick Fury—that, Oh, I’m doing what Bruce said. I’ve got this character now."

Willis played the character of John McClane in Die Hard (1988), Die Hard 2 (1990), Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995), Live Free or Die Hard (2007), and A Good Day to Die Hard (2013).

Jackson has appeared as Nick Fury in Iron Man (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010), Thor (2011), Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), The Avengers (2012), Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013–2020), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Captain Marvel (2019), Avengers: Endgame (2019), Spider-Man: Far from Home (2019), Secret Invasion (2023), The Marvels (2023), and What If...? (2012-2024).

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Demi Moore (@demimoore)

Sadly, in March of 2022, Willis stepped away from acting due to aphasia. In 2023, his family confirmed that his condition had progressed and he was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia. On March 19 of this year, his daughter Rumer Willis provided an update, saying on her Instagram Stories, "He's doing great, thank you for asking."

In an interview with the New York Post , his ex-wife Demi Moore had explained, "What I always encourage is to just meet them where they’re at. When you’re holding on to what was, I think it’s a losing game. But when you show up to meet them where they’re at, there is great beauty and sweetness."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Rumer Glenn Willis (@rumerwillis)

His family also took to social media to celebrate him, Moore sharing multiple photos from his birthday, one post reading, "Happy birthday, BW! We love you."

His daughter Scout Willis wrote, "Every day I thank the Gods that 50% of my DNA is from him. The music I make, the magic I create, and the magnetic mischief I incite, that’s my father’s legacy alive in the world."

Sophia Soto

Sophia Soto is a writer and interviewer with a passion for all things entertainment. She is a Senior Reporter at The Nerds of Color and contributes to Yardbarker, Screensphere, Den of Geek, What to Watch, Nerdtropolis, and Temple of Geek. You can see her past work on Remezcla, Young Hollywood, Looper, Paste Magazine, Primetimer, Soundsphere, and Starry Constellation Magazine

More must-reads: