Did Bruce Willis Lose A Ton of Money By Turning Down This $450 Million Blockbuster?
Quick Links
At the height of Bruce Willis' career, he was one of the biggest movie stars in the world by far. As a result, even after Willis' career hit the skids, which the world later learned was due to an ailment he was suffering, he was still landing lots of roles.Back when Willis' career was still going strong, it seemed like everyone in Hollywood wanted to work with him. Since there are only so many days in the year, that meant that Willis had no choice but to turn down a lot of roles.Even though every movie star winds up missing out on major roles, it can still be really painful when that happens. Part of the reason that was the case is that most famous actors want to be a part of great films.Of course, it should also go without saying that movie stars can be filled with regret when they learn that they missed out on a lot of money. With that in mind, it begs an obvious question, how much money did Willis miss out on by passing on a role in a beloved film franchise?
What Roles Did Bruce Willis Regret Passing On The Most?
In 2007, Bruce Willis was making the rounds to promote his movie that was coming out at that time, Live Free or Die Hard. As a part of that promotional tour, Willis sat down for a fan Q&A hosted by one of the biggest entertainment websites at the time, Ain't It Cool News.
During the resulting Q&A, Willis was asked to name which roles he regretted passing on. In response, Willis revealed there were two main roles he regretted not taking, the first of which likely would surprise most of his fans.
According to Willis, he was offered Patrick Swayze's role in Ghost, and he wished that he had taken it.
"I wish I had not turned down the part that Patrick Swayze eventually played in Ghost. I simply could not see how a romance between a ghost and a living person would work. Duh.... Also it would have been nice to have worked with Demi again. I liked that Film."
The second movie Willis said he was offered and turned down was in the movie Ocean's Eleven. While some people may assume Willis would have been asked to play Danny Ocean, they wanted Bruce to portray the villain Terry Benedict that Andy Garcia brought to life.
"Also, I wish I had played the role of Terry Benedict in Oceans 11. I wanted to work with George Clooney, and thought I might only have one shot at doing it, and when I read the script, the Terry Benedict role in Oceans 11 wasn't finished yet, so I passed on it. Another bad choice, but Andy Garcia did a great job with it, and the rest is history."
At least Willis got to make a cameo in Ocean's Twelve, but he almost certainly would have been paid next to nothing for that.
Did Bruce Willis Lose A Lot Of Money By Passing On Ocean's Eleven?
When the movie Ocean's Eleven was released in 2001, the film had a lot of things going for it including a great plot and Steven Soderbergh's direction. Of course, another one of Ocean's Eleven's highlights was that it featured a truly star-studded cast.
Since Andy Garcia was on Ocean's Eleven's cast list below George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt, and Matt Damon, it makes sense there aren't any reports about his salary. In fact, nothing has been reported about what most of Ocean's Eleven's cast was paid for the movie.
According to a 2022 Parade article, Clooney was paid $20 million to star in Ocean's Eleven. Even if that number is way off and Clooney received $10 million instead, that still is a huge chunk of Ocean's Eleven's budget.
According to IMDb, Ocean's Eleven was produced on an estimated $85 million budget. Between how much it would have cost to film Ocean's Eleven, and the salaries Roberts, Pitt, and Damon would have received, that wouldn't have left much room for Garcia to receive a huge payday.
On top of that information, there are two other things that are worth noting. First off, after starring in Ocean's Eleven, Garcia went on to be a part of Ocean's Twelve and Ocean's Thirteen. Secondly, since Willis is more famous than Garcia, he likely would have gotten a larger salary to star in the trilogy.
Based on everything that is known about the Ocean's franchise, it seems very clear that Willis missed out on millions due to his decision to turn down the first film. Factoring in the fact that Willis once demanded $3 million for four days of filming, Bruce likely would have required a salary in the eight figures if he went on to star in all three Ocean's movies.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTErZ%2Bippeoe6S7zGiZq62Tmnq4tculoKxlnprBbsPOq6uhZZykwLR5066pp6GenHqlu9anZKiblZa7tHmQamY%3D