Bruce Willis to Star as Mike Tyson's Trainer in Upcoming Drama CORNERMAN

According to Entertainment Weekly, Bruce Willis has signed on to star in the upcoming drama Cornerman as legendary boxing trainer Cus D'Amato, IMR International announced Monday.

Written and to be directed by Homeland alum Rupert Friend, the film is set in 1980s New York and tracks D'Amato's discovery and molding of a 13-year-old Tyson, who would go on to become one of the greatest - and most controversial - boxers of all time. The role of young Tyson has yet to be cast.

"Ultimately, this is a story about a deep love between two ferocious talents, each brave enough to admit their fears to the other, and so spur one another to greatness," Friend said in a statement. "It is a story about fighting for what you believe in, and a film that will make you question what strength really is."

Bruce Willis (Producer) has demonstrated incredible versatility in a career that has included such diverse characterizations as the prizefighter in Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction" (1994 Palme D'Or winner at Cannes), the philandering contractor in Robert Benton's "Nobody's Fool", the heroic time traveler in Terry Gilliam's "12 Monkeys", the traumatized Vietnam veteran in Norman Jewison's "In Country", the compassionate child psychologist in M. Night Shyamalan's Oscar-nominated "The Sixth Sense" (for which he won the People's Choice Award) and his signature role, Detective John McClane, in the "Die Hard" pentalogy. Following studies at Montclair State College's prestigious theater program, the New Jersey native honed his craft in several stage plays and countless television commercials, before landing the leading role in Sam Shepard's 1984 stage drama "Fool for Love", a run which lasted for 100 performances off-Broadway.

Willis next won international stardom and several acting awards, including Emmy and Golden Globe honors, for his starring role as private eye David Addison on the hit television series "Moonlighting," winning the role over 3,000 other contenders. At the same time, he made his motion picture debut opposite Kim Basinger in Blake Edwards' romantic comedy "Blind Date." In 1988, he originated the role of John McClane in the blockbuster film, "Die Hard", one of the highest-grossing releases of that year. He later reprised the character in four sequels: "Die Hard: Die Harder (1990)", "Die Hard: With A Vengeance" (1995's global box-office champ), "Live Free, Die Hard" (one of the box-office hits of summer 2007) and "A Good Day To Die Hard" (2013). His wide array of film roles includes collaborations with such respected filmmakers as Michael Bay(Armageddon), M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable), Alan Rudolph (Mortal Thoughts, Breakfast of Champions), Walter Hill(Last Man Standing), Robert Benton (Billy Bathgate, Nobody's Fool), Rob Reiner (The Story of Us), Edward Zwick (The Siege), Luc Besson (The Fifth Element), BARRY Levinson(Bandits, What Just Happened), Robert Zemeckis (Death Becomes Her) and Robert Rodriguez (Sin City, Grind House). Other motion picture credits include "Red", "The Jackal", "Mercury Rising", "Hart's War", "The Whole Nine Yards" (and its sequel The Whole Ten Yards), "The Kid", "Tears of the Sun", "Hostage", "16 Blocks", "Alpha Dog", "Lucky Number Slevin" and "Perfect Stranger".

The actor has also voiced the character of the wise-cracking infant, Mikey, in "Look Who's Talking" and "Look Who's Talking Too" as well as the lead characters RJ & Spike in the animated hit features "Over the Hedge" and "Rugrats Go Wild!" In 2012, Willis successfully added to his credits, two critically acclaimed films: director Wes Anderson's "Moonrise Kingdom", for which Willis and the film received Independent Film Award nominations, and director Rian Johnson's sci-fi thriller "Looper", co-starring Joseph Gordon Levitt. Most Recently, he appeared on Broadway in Stephen King's Misery.

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Photo Credit: Walter McBride

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