Bruce Willis made a name for himself as an action star with the superhit Die Hard franchise. The franchise shot the actor to stardom and made him a household name, and still has a cult following. It was often even mentioned in some of the FRIENDS episodes. So when the star made a cameo appearance in the series, it wasn’t just a huge deal for the fans but also for the cast of the hit sitcom.
Bruce Willis was introduced to the show for a multiple-episode-long cameo. He played the role of the role of Elizabeth’s dad, Paul. Elizabeth was Ross’s student whom he ends up dating. Now, Paul is shown to have a short-lived affair with Rachel, who is Ross’s ex. As it turns out, Willis who was never scared of doing crazy stunts was terrified to become Jennifer Aniston’s lover.
Bruce Willis was terrified of playing Jennifer Aniston’s lover
The show introduced Bruce Willis as Paul, who had a problem with Ross dating his daughter due to the age gap. He is a single father and very protective of his daughter, but in a strange and comedic turn of events, ends up having an affair with Rachel, Ross’s ex, who is way younger than Paul. The actor later revealed that he had a strict rule about kissing Aniston while playing the love interest.
“I would have loved to kiss her, but Brad was my friend and Jennifer was his wife. It didn’t seem appropriate to me, but she’s a hottie.”
So it was his friendship with Brad Pitt that stopped the star from kissing Aniston. He wanted to avoid any awkward situation by kissing his friend’s then-partner. The Die Hard actor worked with Pitt on the movie, 12 Monkeys and the two got really close while filming. He did admit that he would’ve liked to kiss Aniston.
But their romance did add a comedic layer to the whole sequence and Willis’s cameo was one of the best on the show. The cabin episode is also one of the fan favorites. Especially the scenes that featured Willis alongside David Schwimmer.
David Schwimmer was excited to work with Bruce Willis
Playing Ross’s love interest’s dad, Bruce Willis had some of the best scenes that featured him and David Schwimmer. Ross’s attempts to impress Elizabeth’s dad were hilarious as they would fail terribly. David Schwimmer was excited to work alongside Willis. Alexandra Holden, who played Elizabeth, the daughter of Willis’s Paul, shared,
“The next day we showed up to work and I was in my dressing room and there was a bang bang bang on my door. I open it and there was David and he’s like, ‘Oh my God, did you hear?’ I thought there was a fire but he just yelled, ‘Bruce Willis!’ And then he went bounding down the hallway to tell everybody else.”
Schwimmer loved his time working alongside Willis and he must thank Matthew Perry for it. As he was the one who made the cameo possible after the Die Hard actor lost a bet to the Chandler actor.
Source: Daily
