Bruce Willis was Oscar-worthy here
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I love the movie... so why not... I am with you:-)
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MovieChat Forums > Twelve Monkeys (1996) Discussion > Bruce Willis was Oscar-worthy here
Definitely one of his best performances!
shareHe was excellent. Oscar worthy? Maybe not... but much lesser performances have nominated and won before and since.
shareWhy not? He portrays such a complex, nuanced role here of a man questioning his sanity yet regaining his humanity at the same time. The amount of emotions he goes through over the course of the film, is something that can only be portrayed by the most gifted of actors, and it's a height of which Willis has never been able to climb again.
sharePerhaps. I'd need to see the film again. I was impressed with his performance, and with Madeleine Stowe's (of course, Brad Pitt's entertaining but surface-level showboating was the one that got singled out for awards that year - always bet on the showiest role).
It's certainly a difficult role, as you say, and one of his best performances, possibly his best (I am also very fond of his work in The Sixth Sense). I think Paul Buckmaster's superb score for 12 Monkeys was the element which really got shafted in nominations, though.
Absolutely agree. His best performance by far and totally deserving of an Oscar. Unfortunately the Academy doesn't seem to award you based on the actual performance but their overall opinion of you.
shareHe is amazing I agree the Academy snubbed him because of his action star persona(as they snubbed 12 Monkeys in general with only 2 noms)...that year the list of best actor should've been
NICOLAS CAGE-LLV
MEL GIBSON-BRAVEHEART
BRUCE WILLIS-12 MONKEYS
SEAN PENN-DEAD MAN WALKING
ANTONY HOPKINS-NIXON
(my 1st choice would have been Mel Gibson and 2nd choice Bruce Willis both overlooked for their acting chops because of their star status especially in the 90s.BTW Brad Pitt deserved the Oscar for best supporting role too)
I can't feel too bad for Mel Gibson considering he won 2 Oscars for Braveheart for Best Director and Best Picture. It might have been a bit excessive for him to win 3 Oscars in one evening. It's been years since I saw 12 Monkeys. By the way, Brad Pitt did win a Golden Globe that year for 12 Monkeys. Personally I can't blame the academy for giving Kevin Spacy the Oscar for The Usual Suspects.
shareHe was Oscar worthy in Diehard.
He did a good job, considering I don't like any of his other films.
shareI'm told Terry Gilliam gave Willis a page-long list of his usual gimmicks -- the long, slow turn of the head, for example -- and told him he couldn't use any of them. I think that's the key to his great performance here. He couldn't play "Bruce Willis." He had to create a character.
And he was brilliant.