Bruce Willis is an American veteran actor who has starred in over 100 films but is best known for the Die Hard franchise. Willis has been honored with major awards like the People’s Choice Award, Primetime Emmy Award, and Golden Globe Award over his long successful career. The list of Willis’ hit projects can go on for a while, and The Sixth Sense star has always given his best to the audience by wisely selecting the projects to feature. But recently a shocking revelation surfaced, claiming that Willis rejected Denzel Washington’s beloved movie that was first offered to the actor.
Bruce Willis Turned Down Denzel Washington’s Hit Film
Washington is another star with multiple accolades. But people would be surprised to know that the Glory star, who won the Best Actor Oscar for his marvelous performance in Training Day, was not the first preference of the makers. It is tough to imagine any other actor in the role of Washington’s hit detective character, Alonzo Harris. Yet, there were many actors on the makers’ priority list at that time. It cannot be said how the film would have come out if the main character of the film would have been portrayed by some other actor.
Samuel L. Jackson, Gary Sinise, and Tom Sizemore, all these time-tested stars were approached before Washington, but the above list of actors rejected the offer for their own reasons. Training Day supporting star Ethan Hawke revealed that when he signed the film, The Prince of Tides star, Nick Nolte was expected to play the lead role. In the above list of possible Washington replacements, Bruce Willis was also present. But as it turned out, just like the above-mentioned stars, Willis too rejected the role and missed his possible Oscar.
Also Read: Why The World Needs More Pure Hearted Actors Like Denzel Washington
Bruce Willis’ History Of Turning Down Good Roles
Willis is well known for justifying his characters in all genres of movies, including action, comedy, and drama. It is tough to speculate the outcome of the movie if Willis would have starred in Training Day, especially when it has been more than two decades since the movie’s release. Yet it is not the only role with a successful outcome that Willis dropped. In an interview, when asked about the roles that The Fifth Element star dropped, Willis opened up about his past regrets which include his possible role in Ghost and Oceans Eleven.
“I wish I had not turned down the part that Patrick Swayze eventually played in Ghost. I simply could not see how a romance between a ghost and a living person would work. Duh… Also, it would have been nice to have worked with Demi again. I liked that Film. Also, I wish I had played the role of Terry Benedict in Ocean’s 11. I wanted to work with George Clooney and thought I might only have one shot at doing it, and when I read the script, the Terry Benedict role in Ocean’s 11 wasn’t finished yet, so I passed on it. Another bad choice, but Andy Garcia did a great job with it, and the rest is history.”
Also Read: Assassin: Bruce Willis Looks Ready to Rumble in One of Action Movie Icon’s Final Film Roles
It looked like both the films and the actor managed to do well even without each other’s support. Willies opened up about his aphasia diagnosis and is currently focused on recovering, while he gains love and support from his fans and friends by manyfold.
Source: The Things
