Bruce: 'Stay away from my daughter'

Bruce Willis has issued a "hands-off" warning to boys hoping to date his eldest daughter.

The 47-year-old admits he is fiercely overprotective of 13-year-old Rumer, despite the fact that he is reported to be dating an actress less than half his own age - Estella Warren, 23.

He was recently linked romantically with the former model, who played Daena in the recent version of Planet Of The Apes.

Despite the irony, boys thinking of ignoring his warning would do well to remember the title of one of his biggest Hollywood blockbusters: Die Hard.

The father of three said: "Rumer is starting to get interested in boys. I think I'll just kill the first one that turns up and hope the word gets around."

Rumer, the product of Willis's dissolved marriage to Demi Moore, has two younger sisters: Scout, 11, and eightyearold Tallulah. Despite the divorce two years ago, the Hollywood star is still a family man. He said: "I have a good relationship with Demi and I try to spend as much time with my girls as possible, although it's sometimes hard."

Last week, during a New York stage performance with his band Willis and the Accelerators, he told fans he found it difficult to find love. "I have no hope for the youth of America," he told the crowd. "Because I'm 47 years old, standing up here and love is still hard. I still can't figure it out. Love stinks."

He persuaded executives to premiere his new film Hart's War - in which he plays a soldier investigating a mysterious death inside his compound - for the US troops in Afghanistan. He also recorded a special message for them before the start of the movie.

He said: "I was in Manhattan during the 11 September attacks and it was a terrible day. For my latest film I wanted to show the troops overseas how much we appreciate what they are doing."

Willis pulled out of the London Film Festival in November because he was unwilling to fly following the 11 September attacks. He claimed his children had pleaded with him not to make the journey. Fans at the festival jeered as a video message from him was played.