Actor Bruce Willis is stepping away from the silver screen after a diagnosis of aphasia. The news broke via actress and daughter Rumer Willis’ Instagram earlier today on March 30. His family included a photo of the veteran actor along with the news which noted that he had been “experiencing some health issues and has recently been diagnosed with aphasia, which is impacting his cognitive abilities.”
Bruce Willis to Step Away from Acting Following Aphasia Diagnosis
As a result, he will be calling it a day on a career that spanned almost 45 years. His children, wife Emma Heming Willis, and ex-wife Demi Moore all signed the announcement of what is basically a retirement from acting.
According to the Mayo Clinic, aphasia is a cognitive condition that impacts the ability to “speak, write and understand language, both verbal and written.” Brain tumors and head trauma are the common causes of the condition. Treatment involves relearning how to speak and write and comprehend what is being said or what has been written.
Willis—who just celebrated his 67th birthday on Thursday, March 17—faces a major challenge but will have the support of his blended family.
The award-winning actor began his film career in 1980 with an uncredited role in the Frank Sinatra-Faye Dunaway film The First Deadly Sin. For most of the 1980s, he was a presence on television with a starring role on Moonlighting and appearances on shows such as Roseanne, Miami Vice, The Twilight Zone, and hosting Saturday Night Live.
He would get his first starring role in a film in 1987’s Blind Date. A year later, Bruce Willis would star in the film most synonymous with his career: Die Hard. The film would solidify Willis as one of the action genre’s box office draws well into the early 2010s with his last notable roles being in G.I Joe: Retaliation as well as the Red and Expendables franchises.
Currently, there are several direct-to-video films starring Willis slated for a 2022 release.
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