How Bruce Willis Changed Hollywood Actors' Pay Forever

At the time that Bruce Willis was cast in "Die Hard," earning $5 million for one picture was considered appropriate for the biggest stars, not up and coming actors who worked in television — a medium several decades away from its current revered status. Per The New York Times, the precedent for $5 million had been set by Dustin Hoffman in 1982, when he was paid slightly north of that for "Tootsie." But Hoffman was a major movie star at the time. Willis had one credited film role before "Die Hard."

His $5 million payday rankled studio executives and agents, for the same reason: if a TV actor was making that kind of money, what were the big stars going to ask for in response? Agents felt obligated to fight for higher quotes for their clients, and studio executives worried about the precedent being set. The heads of rival studios openly expressed astonishment and worry over what 20th Century Fox had done, especially given that early testing indicated audiences weren't excited for the everyman type of hero Willis wanted to play (per The Washington Post).

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