By Kim Morgan
Special to MSN Movies

Once upon a time, Bruce Willis swore he would stop with the action extravaganzas. No more blazing skyscrapers, no more double-fisted shotgun blasts, no more meteors hurtling from space. He had come into his own, after all, moving from the wisecracking, clever TV star of "Moonlighting" to the action icon of "Die Hard" to the Tarantino badass of "Pulp Fiction" to the forlorn, empathetic specter of "The Sixth Sense." And we thought, "Fine, no more action." He was and obviously still is an actor -- an understated, funny, sensitive and sometimes daring actor.

But perhaps the megastar has lightened up -- or knows a good franchise when he sees one. He decided to break his action rule a few years ago, and now he's reprising his famous character of John McClane in this summer's eagerly anticipated "Live Free or Die Hard." He must understand that he's proved himself -- he can play poignant, he can play comedic, he can play edgy -- and that those qualities needn't be obscured in the newest edition of "Die Hard." Isn't that why we liked John McClane so much in the first place?

MSNBC: John McClane the quintessential American character

With that, we're taking a look at the actor's greatest work, an oeuvre of performances that are almost all surprisingly terrific. Like Humphrey Bogart or Robert Mitchum before him (and trust me, those are not names I throw around lightly), Willis, with a few exceptions, is consistent, even in inferior movies; the guy rarely makes a false move. And like those tough guys mentioned above, he's got a lot more depth than we usually credit him with. Here are 10 roles that prove it.

10. "The Last Boy Scout" (1991)
"The Last Boy Scout" was much maligned upon release, specifically for its vicious violence and dark, cynical characters. But that's what makes its neo-noir performances so intriguing. Willis' ex-Secret Service agent is a hero (he jumped in front of bullets for President Jimmy Carter), but he's not living a charmed life. Now, he's a washed-up private eye whose wife is cheating on him because she is, to put it simply, sick of him. Hired to protect a threatened stripper (played by Halle Berry), he forges a relationship with her boyfriend, a disgraced, Demerol-addicted NFL star (Damon Wayans) who was kicked out of the league for gambling. Working with a justice-bound character -- who is nearly a loser (and most critics could not see him as anything but) -- Willis isn't afraid to take his character into shaded, sinister territory. He's also incredibly funny. Directed by Tony Scott and written by Shane Black (who in addition to "Lethal Weapon" also crafted the underrated "The Long Kiss Goodnight" and "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang"), the picture is filled with amusing banter between Willis and Wayans, with Willis effortlessly flexing his quick-quipped muscles.

9. "The Fifth Element" (1997)
Though competing with extravagant special effects; flashy, colorful art direction; Chris Tucker prancing around in a Jean Paul Gaultier bodysuit; and Milla Jovovich vamping around in a Band-Aid, Bruce Willis managed to strike a passionate pose in Luc Besson's loopy sci-fi epic "The Fifth Element." Willis plays a soldier-turned-taxi driver (in a flying cab) living in New York in the year 2214 who just happens upon the chance to protect the future of the universe. After he rescues the foreign-talking, beautiful and ethereal Leeloo (Jovovich) from the police, he's on the run from freaky aliens and an especially freaky human (played by Gary Oldman) while falling in love with this creature, a woman who turns out to be the eponymous fifth element. Confusing? Yes. Though the film is all over the place and clearly hatched from Besson's 16-year-old imagination (he was a teenager when he conceived the plot), Willis is powerful enough to ground the film, lending the picture its off-kilter center. If you've seen "The Fifth Element," you know how much talent that required.

8. "Nobody's Fool" (1994)
Willis' performance here was so low-key and casual that it's frequently forgotten. "Nobody's Fool" shows the actor as a regular joe, which under Robert Benton's direction is easy to buy. Though the picture's main concern is star Paul Newman and his character's attempt to scrape together what remains of his botched personal life and pride, he is supported by common yet colorful characters, and Willis plays one of them. As Newman's younger boss, the philandering contractor Carl, Willis spars memorably with Newman, the two bouncing off each other with the shaggy-dog charisma of a couple of working guys playing cards. Though the role is small, it's a memorable one for Willis, as he appears to live in the character and gets to riff wonderfully off a true Hollywood legend. You get the sense that Willis knows Carl and as a result, never looks to be slumming. Wonderfully real.

7. "Breakfast of Champions" (1999)
This is not one of Willis' most popular roles; indeed, few have even seen the picture (it was barely released). This is a shame for two reasons: 1) It's highly underrated; and 2) It's one of Willis' most impressively daring performances. Adapted from Kurt Vonnegut's famous novel and directed by Alan Rudolph, "Breakfast of Champions" casts Willis as Dwayne Hoover, the head of a car dealership and local celebrity who stars in all of his obnoxious, garish television commercials. Though he embodies the so-called American dream, he's suffering a severe midlife crisis, with a pill-addicted wife, a loopy lounge singer son and an overly perky secretary/mistress. Like the wild movie, Willis' performance is a theme-park ride of nuttiness and layered meaning; Hoover is always on the verge of a nervous breakdown. As he tries to break free from his cloister of kitsch, he becomes sympathetic -- no easy feat in a movie filled with sensory overload and wacky characters. Through it all, you manage to see the human cracking through the overt caricature, and Willis makes him fun, tragic and recognizable all at once.

6. "The Sixth Sense" (1999)
This picture got everyone discussing both its famous M. Night Shyamalan twist ending (before it became a joke) and the alarming young talent named Haley Joel Osment (before he grew up and disappeared). But the movie was also remarkable in that it reminded viewers just how quiet and nuanced Bruce Willis could be. Playing a child psychologist whose life is shattered after a deranged former patient shoots him and then turns the gun on himself, Willis is potently touching. Alienated from his wife (make that really, really alienated from his wife; if you haven't seen the film, that's all I will say) and seriously confused, he begins to treat a creepy little kid named Cole (Osment), who claims he keeps seeing dead people everywhere. This is a terrific case, and the child's obsession with ghosts is just the professional shot in the arm the shrink needs, but then, that kid really is seeing dead people, including (spoiler alert!) the good doctor. Spending an entire movie not knowing you're dead wasn't too great of a challenge for Willis, and he imbues his character with a poignant amount of soul, making the entire movie creepier and sadder. Then again, if Bruce Willis is the dead guy, things might work out OK.

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