Jerry Bruckheimer recalls Bruce Willis being "generous to the crew” on the set of 1998 hit Armageddon

In an interview with PEOPLE Magazine published on April 23, 2024, producer Jerry Bruckheimer recalled, working with Die Hard star Bruce Willis on the sci-fi action film Armageddon.

During the interview, Bruckheimer, who is gearing up to release several movies this summer, including Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, Bad Boys: Ride or Die, and Young Woman and the Sea, took a walk down the memory lane of one of his blockbusters Armageddon. It starred Bruce Willis, Liv Tyler, Ben Affleck, Billy Bob Thornton, and Owen Wilson.

The legendary producer, who described Willis as a “Good Guy,” recalled the Glass star’s generosity toward the crew when the cameras weren’t rolling. Bruckheimer said:

“Bruce is such a good guy. He was so generous to the crew.”

Bruckheimer continued that while working on the 1998 film Armageddon, the 69-year-old actor donated money to the film crews’ cash giveaways to ensure they had some extra cash by the weekend.

“They’d have drawings, and he’d throw a lot of money in the hat, and the crew members would always take away some nice extra cash at the end of the week, whoever won."

---

Hollywood showers praise on Bruce Willis amid the actor's health struggles

Bruce Willis at 17th Annual A Great Night In Harlem (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images)

Jerry Bruckheimer produced Michael Bay’s 1998 hit film Armageddon, which focused on a team of oil drillers, who were sent to space to stop an asteroid heading toward Earth. Bruce Willis played the main protagonist, Harry S. Stamper, an oil driller who, along with his team, is sent to destroy an asteroid on a collision course towards Earth.

The movie was a blockbuster success, making over $553 million worldwide. During a recent interview with PEOPLE, the movie’s producer Bruckheimer fondly recalled Willis’ generosity toward the crew even when the cameras weren’t rolling.

Bruckheimer’s praise comes two years after Willis announced his retirement from acting after his aphasia diagnosis in 2022, engendered by frontotemporal dementia.

Bruckheimer wasn’t alone in his praise for the Die Hard star. Filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan recently reminisced about Bruce Willis, who starred as child psychologist Malcolm Crowe in the writer-director’s breakout hit The Sixth Sense.

In a recent interview with PEOPLE, Shyamalan voiced his support for Willis in the wake of his health concerns and praised the actor’s family for rallying behind him.

“He has a very loving family. They’re doing the best they can.”

In 2023, while speaking to the Hollywood Reporter, Shyamalan revealed Willis was “pivotal” in his life and career, adding he had the actor’s pictures on his wall as a kid. Shyamalan noted he was close with the actor’s family and would always think of him as a big brother, who protected him.

“For him to be so pivotal in my life and start my career means so much. Our families are also very close, and I will always think of him as a big brother and remember how much he protected me. So the things that are happening with him are happening to a family member.”

During the celebration of Pulp Fiction’s 30th anniversary on April 18, friends and family stepped out to honor Bruce Willis, who played Butch Coolidge in the hit 1994 film.

Eric Stoltz, who played Lance in the film, told PEOPLE He was “crazy” about Willis and shared a memory from the time they worked together. He recalled:

"He used to buy everybody pizzas. We had a lot of night shoots, and suddenly Bruce would show up with 10 pizzas. How could you not love that? I was crazy about the man."

Willis’ wife Emma Heming Willis and his daughter Tallulah Belle Willis also attended the event in support of the star.