by Jeanne Wolf

It's not every star that can steal his own thunder, but then, not every star shines quite as bright as Bruce Willis.

Just prior to the opening of potentially his biggest film yet, Willis made headlines of a different sort with the announcement

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that he and Demi Moore were ending their 10-year marriage.

In an interview shortly before that news, Willis maintained his longstanding ban against discussing marital matters with the media. But he did talk about daughters Rumer, Scout and Tallulah, the state of the real world and how it feels to headline the year's second major asteroid movie.

In Armageddon, the 43-year-old Willis plays a smart-ass oil rigger who becomes Earth's last hope for survival. As a giant comet hurtles toward the planet, Willis and "it" boy Ben Affleck, along with Billy Bob Thornton and Liv Tyler, do their best to save the world.

As an action star, Willis has been making the big save since he shot to big-screen stardom with Die Hard. His wisecracking heroes have reached a wide audience and made him one of Hollywood's highest paid actors.

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But the New Jersey native isn't above working for change if the part is right. He delivered memorable performances in the wrenching In Country and the darkly comic Pulp Fiction. And he recently took an extra-big pay cut to star in the just-completed Breakfast of Champions, based on the Kurt Vonnegut novel.

Why? Because in his heart, it seems, Willis prefers acting to action.