Though today he is largely best known for his role John McClane in the beloved action movie franchise Die Hard, it was his stint on Moonlighting that thrust Bruce Willis into the spotlight. The Pulp Fiction actor took on the role of Detective David Addison Jr. in 1985, starring opposite Cybill Shepherd as Maddie Hayes until the show's end in 1989. And though on the screen, the two co-stars had plenty of romantic tension, off the screen, their relationship appeared to pale in comparison.
Towards the end of Moonlighting and afterwards — Bruce was fresh off of his Die Hard success, and Cybill had just welcomed twins, therefore neither were reportedly very present or committed during filming — the co-stars did little to hide their apparent animosity towards each other. Cybill claimed to the tabloids that Bruce was "a jerk," while Bruce, in a 1990 interview on the Arsenio Hall Show, asked whether he would consider reuniting with Cybill for a possible project in the future, said: "I don't think so. Not right now, anyway," before explaining: "Look, Moonlighting was a very good show for me, and I had a lot of fun doing it. It reached a point where it was no longer fun."
© GettyOver 30 years later however, Cybill at least has changed her tune. Speaking with People earlier this month in honor of her new stage show, An Evening with CYBILL SHEPHERD: Music, Conversation & Stories, she confirmed that she was able to mend fences with Bruce, before his health deteriorated. In 2022, his family disclosed he had been diagnosed with aphasia, a diagnosis that has since been updated to frontotemporal dementia (FTD). "Yes, I'm very grateful for that," she said of the two making amends, adding that "it was time" that they did so.
Cybill also spoke fondly about Bruce in May 2022, one month after his aphasia diagnosis was first made public by his family. "I just have to say one thing about Bruce," she told Extra, sharing: "No one else was ever considered for the part when he walked in the room."
© Getty Images"My temperature went up 10 degrees. That meant two things to me: one, I was very attracted to him, two, I would never act on it, 'cause we were both very attracted to each other," she further shared, maintaining: "I will always love Bruce."
© Getty ImagesMoonlighting was created by Glenn Gordon Caron, who last year opened up about how Bruce was doing. Speaking with The New York Post, Glenn said: "I have tried very hard to stay in his life," adding: "I'm not always quite that good but I try and I do talk to him and his wife and I have a casual relationship with his three older children." Addressing the difficult changes he's seen in Bruce, he continued: "The thing that makes [his disease] so mind-blowing is [that] if you've ever spent time with Bruce Willis, there is no one who had any more joie de vivre than he," noting: "He loved life and… just adored waking up every morning and trying to live life to its fullest."
© Getty Images"My sense is the first one to three minutes he knows who I am," he explained, before revealing that the actor "is not totally verbal," and that he is "seeing life through a screen door." He further shared: "When you're with him you know that he's Bruce and you're grateful that he's there," before making the heartbreaking confession that "the joie de vivre is gone."
