Bruce Willis ‘couldn’t remember his lines’ & ‘needed body doubles to complete scenes’ before aphasia diagnosis revealed
BRUCE Willis’ fellow actors and filmmakers apparently were worried for months about the actors behavior, before his family revealed Wednesday the action hero icon is suffering from aphasia.
According to reports, there were rumors the Die Hard star was suffering from some kind of “dementia.”
“He was having cognitive problems, they all knew Bruce was having problems,” a source told Page Six. “Everybody knew, the cast and crew.”
The actor has spent the past several years making lower budget movies that flew under the radar, with titles like, American Seige, Deadlock and Cosmic Sin.
Last year, Bruce reunited with Pulp Fiction co-star John Travolta for the first time in 27 years, teaming up for the action pic Paradise City.
The Hudson Hawk star was spotted on the beach in Maui filming a scene.
READ MORE BRUCE WILLIS
The movie reportedly features Bruce as a renegade bounty hunter who must carve his way through the Hawaiian crime world to wreak vengeance on the kingpin, played by John, who murdered his father.
But according to Page Six, Bruce, 67, was experiencing cognitive issues on sets, and often couldn’t remember his lines
Their source added that Willis was using: “earpieces, hearing things, for them to feed him the lines,” and “it was increasingly difficult to have him on screen.”
At times, producers were forced to use body doubles, and dial back the actors screen time to accommodate him.
Most read in The Sun
“It was becoming super obvious he was having trouble … he could not act anymore.”
THE ANNOUNCEMENT
On Wednesday, Bruce’s daughter, Rumer Willis, took to Instagram to make an announcement regarding her famous father.
Alongside a throwback photo of the father-daughter duo, Rumer wrote: “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.”
She continued: “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.”
The message was signed by Bruce’s family members, including his daughters Rumer, Scout, 30, Tallulah, 28, Mabel, 7, and Evelyn, 9, along with his wife Emma Heming Willis and ex-wife Demi Moore.
Bruce was married to actress Demi, 59, from 1987 to 2000.
Despite the end of their marriage, the exes have remained friends and have been involved in each other’s lives.
He went on to marry Emma, 43, in 2009.
FAMILY MEMORIES
In the days leading up to the announcement, Emma shared a series of emotional Instagram posts detailing their love.
His 43-year-old wife had already been sharing touching tributes to the star throughout the month of March, which was populated with several milestones in their life together.
On March 19, Bruce’s birthday, Emma posted a collection of photos of the two of them smiling, kissing and embracing in a variety of locations.
She, who married the Die Hard star in 2009, captioned the collage: “I don’t just love him, I really really like him,” before adding a hashtag “birthdayboy.”
Just a few days later, on March 21, the couple celebrated their 13th wedding anniversary.
And again, Emma shared a special memory of their wedding, revealing each of them with happy tears in their eyes during the special occasion.
She added the caption: “13 years ago, those wedding speeches really sent us over the edge. Enjoy!” along with the hashtags “uglycry, weddinganniversary and lucky13.”
WHAT IS APHASIA
Aphasia is a medical condition resulting in the inability to understand words and communicate clearly, and it typically occurs after a stroke or head injury.
The onset of aphasia may be related to disease or brain tumor causing degenerative damage.
Treatment for aphasia comes in the form of speech and language therapy, where the diagnosed may learn new ways to communicate.
There are different patterns of aphasia: expressive, comprehensive, and global.
We pay for your stories!
Do you have a story for The US Sun team?
Email us at exclusive@the-sun.com or call 212 416 4552.
Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TheSunUS and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSunUS