While living in New York, Willis performed as an extra in Paul Newman's closing summation scene in "The Verdict" (1982). He later moved to California, and appeared in a 1984 episode of the TV series "Miami Vice" titled "No Exit". In 1985, he was the guest actor in the first episode of the 1980s revival of "The Twilight Zone", "Shatterday". He successfully auditioned for the role of David Addison Jr. of the television series "Moonlighting" (1985–1989), competing against 3,000 other actors for the position.