Bruce Willis

Willis worked as a bartender and bouncer in New York while pursuing stage acting before his breakthrough on the television series Moonlighting, which led directly to the run of action blockbusters that made him one of the biggest stars of his generation.

The action superstar at his most vulnerable — drooling, disoriented and desperate to hear 20th-century music in Gilliam's time-loop tragedy — was already one of the biggest action stars in the world from the Die Hard franchise. He deliberately sought out the role to work against type, taking a significant pay cut to work with Gilliam on a much smaller, stranger production.

His performance earned him a Golden Globe nomination, a rare dramatic acting recognition in a career built largely on action roles, and he has cited it in interviews as one of the performances he's proudest of.