(AFP) – Oct 5, 2009

PARIS — Veteran action hero Bruce Willis is to join the board of directors of the embattled French drinks group Belvedere, which owns the Polish-made Sobieski vodka brand, the firm said on Monday.

The US actor, who has appeared in ads for Sobieski, "expressed his wish to become a shareholder of reference alongside its management and to be fully associated with the group?s marketing strategy," it said in a statement.

Willis, best known as the gun-toting star of the "Die Hard" films, will become a member of Belvedere?s board of directors at the next general meeting of shareholders, it said.

Belvedere has debts of about 550 million euros (800 million dollars) and was placed under bankruptcy protection by a French court in July 2008.

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