Bruce Willis "Stepping Away" From Acting After Being Diagnosed With Aphasia

Bruce Willis, one of the most influential actors of the last three decades and a true icon of action cinema, has announced his definitive retirement from the world of Entertainment.

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The arduous decision, endorsed together with his family, was taken following the diagnosis of aphasia, a cognitive disorder that significantly affects the ability to speak and understand language. The announcement of Willis's retirement was entrusted to his family members, who shared a message on social media that you can read below:
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. As a result of this and with much consideration Bruce is stepping away from the career that has meant so much to him.
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.
As Bruce always says, “Live it up” and together we plan to do just that.
Love,
Emma, Demi, Rumer, Scout, Tallulah, Mabel, & Evelyn

 

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Bruce Willis was born in 1955 in Idar-Oberstein, an American military base located in former West Germany. After a muted career started in the early 80s, he eventually achieved success thanks to the ABC series Moonlighting (1985), with which he earned his first Golden Globe Award and Emmy Award.
Later his career as an actor exploded with Die Hard (1988), a film that inaugurated the success of this action saga, where Willis lent his face to John McClane.

Source: NBC

In the lucky 90s, Bruce Willis juggled action roles in films such as The Last Boy Scout (1991), 12 Monkeys (1995), The Fifth Element (1997), and Armageddon (1998). The actor also took part in famous comedies such as Blind Date (1987), Look Who's Talking (1989) and Death Becomes Her (1992). In 1999, Willis closed the decade with the iconic supernatural psychological thriller film The Sixth Sense, in which he played child psychologist Malcolm Crowe.
On the television front, his appearance in the incredibly successful sitcom Friends still remains iconic. This guest role also gave Willis another Emmy Award in his acting career.

Source: 20th Century Studios

In the 2000s, the actor starred in other remarkable movies such as Unbreakable (2000), Sin City (2005), Red (2010) and Red 2 (2013), Moonrise Kingdom (2012), Looper (2012), and the recent Motherless Brooklyn (2019).