Bruce Willis returns to Die Hard's Nakatomi Plaza in emotional social media post

Bruce Willis has paid a visit to Nakatomi Plaza, the site of the action in Die Hard, in an Instagram post shared by his wife Emma Heming Willis. "Nakatomi Plaza 34 years later," Heming Willis captioned the post, which features black and white clips of Willis standing on top of the high-rise building interspersed with footage from Die Hard.

Released in 1988, the hit action movie stars Willis as John McClane, an NYPD detective who gets caught up in a terrorist takeover of an LA skyscraper while visiting his estranged wife (Bonnie Bedelia) on Christmas Eve. The late Alan Rickman plays Hans Gruber, the leader of the terrorist group. Despite initial mixed reviews, Die Hard was nominated for four Academy Awards and is now considered one of the greatest action movies ever made.

Nakatomi Plaza is, of course, the real-life Fox Plaza, which actually houses 20th Century Studios on its 34th floor. In the movie, it's the home of the Nakatomi Corporation, which employs McClane's wife Holly as a high-ranking executive. 

The post is particularly poignant since Willis' family announced his retirement from acting earlier this year following a diagnosis of aphasia, a disease that affects expression and comprehension of language. Die Hard is the role that propelled Willis to his position as an A-list movie star – his on-screen career spans nearly 40 years and he's starred in over 100 movies, including two Die Hard sequels, Pulp Fiction, 12 Monkeys, and The Sixth Sense. 

If you've already rewatched Die Hard recently, check out our picks of the other best action movies of all time for further viewing inspiration.