Hollywood action star Bruce Willis was having cognitive issues on the set of his recent films and was unable to remember his lines before his family stepped in “to take care of him,” a source has revealed.
His family has announced the 67-year-old star will be retiring from movie making after being diagnosed with aphasia – a condition that affects a person’s ability to communicate.
According to a source those working with Willis last year noticed that he was having issues during production on a number of his recent action movies such as Survive the Game, Cosmic Sin and Hard Kill.
A source told Page Six of the Pulp Fiction star: “He was having cognitive problems, they all knew Bruce was having problems.”
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The insider added, “Everybody knew, the cast and crew. His family has stepped in, they moved in to take care of him.”
The source added that Willis was using “earpieces, hearing things, for them to feed him the lines,” and “it was increasingly difficult to have him on screen.”
The source also revealed that on one of the sets the production team had to use body doubles due to Willis’ apparent problems.
“It became very apparent that he was having problems,” said the source. “So they’d use body doubles, not just for action [sequences], but for maximizing his screen time.”
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The crew also had to reduce the actor’s screen time because of the issues on one of the sets, according to the source, leaving Willis just required to shoot for three days.
Willis was being allowed to shoot closer to home the source said, “it was becoming super obvious he was having trouble … he could not act anymore.”
Willis, the iconic star of the Die Hard franchise, was recently panned by critics for 8 of his most recent movies in 2021 and still has many movie projects on the go including Vendetta, Fortress: Sniper’s Eye and White Elephant.
Willis’ family announced his condition and that he was stepping away from his career in a statement which read, “To Bruce’s amazing supporters, as a family we wanted to share that our beloved Bruce has been experiencing some health issues and has recently been diagnosed with aphasia, which is impacting his cognitive abilities,” adding that he’ll be “stepping away from the career that has meant so much to him.”
Aphasia is a language disorder caused by damage to the brain, often by a stroke or traumatic injury. People with aphasia often have difficulty speaking, reading or writing, though intelligence is unaffected. The main treatment is speech and language therapies with involvement from family members.
The statement from Willis’ family continued: “This is a really challenging time for our family and we are so appreciative of your continued love, compassion and support. We are moving through this as a strong family unit, and wanted to bring his fans in because we know how much he means to you, as you do to him.”
The statement from his wife, Emma Heming, his ex-wife, Demi Moore, and his five children, Rumer, 33, Scout, 30, Tallulah, 28, Mabel, 9, and Evelyn, 7, added, “As Bruce always says, ‘Live it up’ and together we plan to do just that.”
A rep for Willis had no comment beyond his family’s statement, as per Page Six.
It seems that this is the right time for Willis to step away so he can spend more time with loved ones and focus on the treatment that may help him live as normal a life as possible for as long as possible.
Help us wish him and his family the best by sharing this story.
