Filmmakers had been worried about Bruce Willis’ health for some time

The failing health of Bruce Willis, who ended his acting career due to language and cognitive impairments, has become a concern for several filmmakers who have worked with him lately. The family of the star of Die Hard and other famous action films announced on Wednesday that Bruce Willis, 67, suffers from aphasia, a condition that prevents normal communication and “which impacts his cognitive abilities”. interviewed by the Los Angeles Times said they noticed the actor’s fading faculties after working with him recently. They cite in particular moments during which Bruce Willis seemed disoriented and had difficulty remembering his lines of dialogue, even when his entourage asked that his text be reduced to the maximum for his performances. Director Mike Burns, who directed Race against death , released in 2021, said he quickly realized that the artist had health concerns. He explains daily: “After the first day of work with Bruce, I was able to personally realize that there was a big problem and I understood why I had been asked to shorten his text.” His colleague Jesse Johnson, director of White Elephant, had found Bruce Willis for this low-budget film several decades after having rubbed shoulders with the actor. And he found him much changed. “It was obvious this wasn’t the Bruce I remembered,” he said. According to members of the film crew quoted by the Californian daily, Bruce Willis would have at one point launched on the set: “I know why you are here, and I know why you are here, but what am I doing here?” “After our experience on White Elephant, it was decided that we would no longer work together,” added Jesse Johnson, who had been approached for another film project with Bruce Willis. “We’re all Bruce Willis fans, and it didn’t feel right. At the end of the day, it was a sad end to an incredible career and it made us all feel uncomfortable,” he said. His star had faded lately, but Bruce Willis was one of the hottest action movie actors of the 1990s and 2000s, known the world over. With a career on the decline, he had multiplied in recent years the appearances in series B films where he held roles as brief as caricatural. The organizers of the Razzies, anti-Oscars who parody the Hollywood awards by pinning down the worst films of the year, had as such dedicated a category to him this year. They announced Thursday that they were withdrawing this “award” following the diagnosis of aphasia from which the actor suffers.