Actor Bruce Willis has shown signs of cognitive decline in recent years when he once fired a blank-loaded gun on the wrong cue and wondered out loud what he was doing on set, according to people who have recently worked with him.
Willis, 67, is retiring from acting after being diagnosed with aphasia, a brain condition that affects his ability to understand speech, his family said in an Instagram post on Wednesday.
Those who have worked with him in recent years now say his health has been deteriorating for some time.
Vanderpump Rules star Lala Kent, who played Willis’ daughter on the set of Hard Kill, recalls the action hero unexpectedly firing a gun at the wrong cue during filming in 2020.
“I should think my life is about to end, and then my dad steps in to save the day,” she told the Los Angeles Times, explaining that she had her back to him during the scene and ducked afterwards should He delivered his line, but before firing the gun.
No one was injured in the incident, and the film’s producer and gunsmith say it didn’t happen.
Later that year, the director of Out of Death urged the film’s screenwriter to keep his lines “short and sweet” and offered little explanation for the sudden rewriting.
“It looks like we need to reduce Bruce’s page count by about 5 pages,” director Mike Burns said in a June 2020 email to the screenwriter. “We also have to shorten his dialogue a bit so that there are no monologues etc.”
Sources say acclaimed actor Bruce Willis, 67, has struggled on the sets of his recent films and was even pictured using an earphone to feed him on the set of American Siege in 2020
On Wednesday, Willis’ family shared this photo of the 67-year-old actor to announce that he has been diagnosed with a brain condition called aphasia, which affects the ability to understand both verbal and written language
He was also spotted appearing to need help on the set of his movie Paradise City last May
Willis also openly questioned what he was doing on the set of upcoming low-budget film White Elephant last April.
‘I know why you are here and I know why you are here, but why am I here?’ Two crew members remember him asking.
That film’s director, Jesse V. Johnson, says Willis’s team told him that “it would be best if we could finish filming by lunchtime and let him go early.”
An unnamed source told Page Six that his declining cognitive abilities have been an open secret in Hollywood, as the actor has repeatedly struggled to act in his films.
“Everyone knew it, the cast and crew,” the unnamed source said, adding that Willis was “using earbuds, hearing things so they would give him the lines,” and it was “getting harder and harder to have him on screen.” .
He said films should actually be shot closer to where Willis lived with his family – who, the source says, have been looking after the 67-year-old actor – to facilitate production.
And in at least one production, the source said, producers began using a body double to increase Willis’ screen time, while in another his screen time was “cut short,” with the actor only filming on set for three days.
The source said, “It became very apparent that he was struggling… he couldn’t act anymore.”
The famous actor can even be seen in a scene in his new movie American Siege, filmed in 2020, wearing an earphone. That was a full two years before the family announced Willis had aphasia.
Willis had previously been spotted using an earphone to feed him lines during his Broadway debut in Misery in 2015, an unnamed insider also told OK! magazine
He was also reportedly struggling while filming M. Night Shyamalan’s 2019 film Glass.
His family shared a statement on their social media pages in which he announced his diagnosis on Wednesday and said he was “retiring from the career that has meant so much to him.”
“During the making of Glass, the staff worked around him cutting and editing lines and letting him overdub lyrics because he had trouble remembering and/or delivering them,” they told the publication, according to the New Zealand Herald.
“He’s hooded in most of the scenes on Glass, and they replaced him with backup and body doubles. He never smiled on set and was always accompanied by an assistant who guided him as he walked.”
The source also said at the time that Willis sold his New York home to spend more time with his wife and children in Los Angeles, and that his wife and ex-wife Demi Moore worked together to take care of him take care of the famous actor.
“His wife Emma has been helping Demi Moore and the kids Bruce shares with his ex-wife call truces knowing he’s fading,” the unnamed source told the magazine in January 2021.
“Between Demi and Emma, the family has always made sure Bruce has the support and care he may need at all times,” the insider said.
They added: “The good news is that while there is real concern about dementia scares, it has largely not affected his ability to work in Hollywood – and in true superhero form – he is not slowing down because of new technology like earbuds.” this allows actors of his caliber not to miss a beat.’
But in recent years, according to the New Zealand Herald, die-hard fans of the actor have noticed that he’s been taking on more direct-to-video roles.
That year, reports Page Six, Willis received a dedicated category for the “worst films of 2021” at the Razzies — a parody awards show honoring the worst cinematic underperformances — after starring in eight critical films.
One of his films, Out of Death, received a zero rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The parody awards show apologized to the actor after announcing his diagnosis on Wednesday, tweeting: “The Razzies are truly sorry for the diagnosed condition of #BruceWillis.
“Maybe that explains why he wanted to go out with a bang in 2021. Our best wishes to Bruce and his family.”
Meanwhile, the actor had been pictured more frequently with his family, with Moore, 59, wishing him a happy birthday in an Instagram post earlier this month, sharing a photo of the two standing in the kitchen and writing: “Everything Happy Birthday Bruce ! Grateful for our blended family.’
Discovered: Bruce Willis’ daughters, Rumer and Scout Willis, were captured in Los Angeles on Wednesday after it was revealed their famous father has been diagnosed with the degenerative brain disease aphasia
The family reportedly knew his mental condition had deteriorated before issuing the statement on Wednesday
The statement was signed by his wife Emma (pictured) and ex-wife Demi Moore, as well as all of his children
Willis had reportedly sold his New York apartment to spend more time with his family. He is pictured here with ex-wife Demi Moore and their children in matching pajamas in 2020
That same weekend, Emma posted a tribute to her husband of 13 years in honor of their anniversary, sharing a photo of them at their 2009 wedding.
“13 years ago these wedding speeches really blew our minds,” she wrote.
Emma also posted her own birthday tribute to Bruce — a photomontage she created, in which she wrote, “Not only do I love him, I really, really like him.”
Willis shares three children – Rumer, 33, Scout, 30 and Tallulah, 28, with Moore, to whom he was married from 1987 to 2000. He also has two daughters, Mabel, 9, and Evelyn, 7, with his wife Emma, 43.
On Wednesday, his family wrote in a statement on social media: “To Bruce’s amazing supporters, as a family we wanted to announce that our beloved Bruce has been experiencing a number of health conditions and has recently been diagnosed with aphasia which is affecting his cognitive abilities.
Willis, second from left, recently celebrated his 67th birthday with his entire family
Demi Moore recently posted a picture to Instagram on March 19th thanking Willis for her blended family and wishing him a happy birthday
“As a result, and with much deliberation, Bruce is stepping down from the career that has meant so much to him.”
The statement added: “This is a truly challenging time for our family and we are so grateful for your continued love, compassion and support. We’re moving through this as a strong family unit and wanted to include his fans because we know how much he means to you, just as you mean to him.
“As Bruce always says, ‘Live it high,’ and together we plan to do just that,” concluded the statement, which was signed by his wife, model Emma Heming Willis, ex-wife Demi Moore and all of their children .
His daughters Rumer and Scout Willis were spotted in Los Angeles on Wednesday after revealing the diagnosis.
According to the National Aphasia Association, the condition is a language impairment that affects the production or comprehension of language and the ability to read or write.