Aphasia and Incoming Dementia Destabilized Die Hard Star Bruce Willis So Much He’d Spontaneously Forget Where He is, Ask Around Why He Was On-Set While Filming His Own Movie Scenes
Die Hard star Bruce Willis announced his retirement from his acting career last year after being diagnosed with ‘aphasia’ in march 2022. It is a disorder in which language comprehension and expression are impaired due to damage to brain regions involved in communication processing. In an Instagram post, Rumer Willis, the daughter of Bruce Willis and his ex-wife, Demi Moore, revealed last year that her father’s neurological condition is negatively affecting his cognitive function and memory. On Thursday, his family announced that he was diagnosed now with ‘frontotemporal dementia,’ more specifically, which is a very cruel disease in consideration.
Although unfortunately, the 67-year-old Die Hard star has been suffering from such a critical health condition. But it is a blessing for the actor that he has a blended family standing by his side to support him in his difficult time and loves him dearly.
FTD And Aphasia Lead To Bruce Willis’ Health Deteriorating
Hollywood action hero Bruce Willis’s family released a joint statement on Thursday which indicates that his health condition has worsened as he is now diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, commonly known as FTD. He withdrew from acting last year as he began fighting the illness that affected his language abilities.
According to a joint statement on The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration’s website, Willis’ now-wife Emma Heming Willis, ex-wife Demi Moore, and five daughters disclosed his diagnosis, which reads,
“Our family wanted to start by expressing our deepest gratitude for the incredible outpouring of love, support and wonderful stories we have all received since sharing Bruce’s original diagnosis. In the spirit of that, we wanted to give you an update about our beloved husband, father and friend since we now have a deeper understanding of what he is experiencing.”
“Since we announced Bruce’s diagnosis of aphasia in spring 2022, Bruce’s condition has progressed, and we now have a more specific diagnosis: frontotemporal dementia (known as FTD). Unfortunately, challenges with communication are just one symptom of the disease Bruce faces. While this is painful, it is a relief to finally have a clear diagnosis.”
“Today, there are no treatments for the disease, a reality that we hope can change in the years ahead. As Bruce’s condition advances, we hope that any media attention can be focused on shining a light on this disease that needs far more awareness and research.”
Upon receiving the overwhelming support, Willis’s family expressed their “deepest gratitude.” Also, they went on to explain that FTD is the most common type of dementia among individuals under the age of 60. In their new statement on Thursday, they expressed the hope that media attention would increase public awareness of the actor’s condition. It was signed by members of Willis’s family, including his wife Emma Heming and her two daughters and his former wife Demi Moore and her three daughters.
Bruce Willis Allegedly Once Showed Signs Of Memory Loss On A Film Set
According to directors who worked with Bruce Willis and discussed his condition after Willis’ family made his diagnosis public last year, Willis’ struggle with aphasia was evident during some of his more recent films. According to the Los Angeles Times, Mike Burns, who directed Willis in the 2021 film Out of Death, had to condense all of the actor’s material into just one day of filming.
Burns said,
“After the first day of working with Bruce, I could see it firsthand, and I realized that there was a bigger issue at stake here and why I had been asked to shorten his lines.”
In addition to his collaboration with Willis on The Wrong Place, Burns had concerns regarding his mental health. Burns decided not to work with Willis again when filming began because he believed his condition had deteriorated, but eventually, Willis announced his retirement. Other filmmakers described heart-breaking scenes as the Die Hard star struggled to remember his dialogue and lost mental acuity on the White Elephant film set. Several sources reported that Willis was fed his lines through an “earwig earpiece” by an actor who traveled with him. At one point, he forgot and asked why he was on the film set during his scenes filming.
White Elephant film director Jesse V. Johnson said,
“After our experience on ‘White Elephant,’ it was decided as a team that we would not do another. We are all Bruce Willis fans, and the arrangement felt wrong and ultimately a rather sad end to an incredible career, one that none of us felt comfortable with.”
In another incident, according to reality television star Lala Kent last year, Willis repeatedly fired a prop gun prematurely during the shooting of the movie Hard Kill in 2020, but this was co-related to his health condition after his diagnosis. Our sincere wishes go out to Willis and his family for a speedy recovery and a prosperous future.
Source: Los Angeles Times
