Actually, what has separated Willis from his rivals is not so much the types of films he has appeared in but his ironic style, his working-class persona and, perhaps most important, his New York theatrical training, which has helped him avoid being frozen into an acting mould. Becomes Her, a forlorn boxer in Pulp Fiction and a philandering contractor in Robert Benton's Nobody's Fool. He has also been in an array of poorly received films, including The Bonfire of the Vanities, Hudson Hawk, The Last Boy Scout and Striking Distance, but he has always seemed to emerge from these relatively unscathed. Willis said that the criticism of that film didn't rankle him, but mention of the movie touched a nerve. It's in profit.
Nobody's interested in that.
Like many people in Hollywood, even the most powerful, Willis contends that he's not thin-skinned, but criticism clearly stays with him. It would be great if I got the nice press that some actors get without trying, but I don't need it. Willis's bursts of candour, coupled with his average-guy appearance, have somehow enhanced his persona on screen. In many ways he's a throwback to movie actors who worked successfully in the studio system, churning out one film after another. He worked after high school at the nearby Du Pont chemical plant, like his father, then quit to study acting at Montclair State College.