Bruce Willis' health reportedly raised concerns on film sets for years: 'He just looked so lost'

Bruce Willis
(Image credit: Theo Wargo/Getty Images)

Filmmakers who worked with Bruce Willis were reportedly concerned about his health for years before his aphasia diagnosis was announced.

The Die Hard star's family on Wednesday announced he will step back from acting after being "diagnosed with aphasia, which is impacting his cognitive abilities." A new report in The Los Angeles Times says filmmakers have been ​​privately concerned about his health, as he "has been exhibiting signs of decline in recent years," and those who worked with him were unsure if he "was fully aware of his surroundings on set."

The report describes how Willis' recent film shoots had to be limited to two days, his dialogue scenes needed to be trimmed, and he had to have his lines fed to him in an earpiece. "Someone would give him a line and he didn't understand what it meant," a crew member told the Times.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Director Mike Burns recalled swearing off working with Willis again after he seemed to be doing "worse," while director Jesse V. Johnson said that when he met with the actor, "it was clear that he was not the Bruce I remembered." Production supervisor Terri Martin also said "he just looked so lost" on set. Willis would reportedly sometimes question where he was, and in one instance, he allegedly fired a gun, which was loaded with a blank, on the wrong cue.

"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," Johnson told the Times.

Willis' fans had previously wondered why he was appearing in as many as seven direct-to-video movies a year. In light of the health revelations, though, the Razzies are facing calls to rescind an award introduced in 2021 for "Worst Performance by Bruce Willis in a 2021 Movie." The parody award show's co-founder told IndieWire "we are still discussing how to handle the news about Willis' diagnosis."

Explore More
Brendan Morrow

Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.