Bruce Willis Gives Up Acting After Brain Condition Diagnosis

Bruce Willis, 67, has been diagnosed with aphasia a brain condition that affects his ability to understand language and will be stepping away from acting, his family announced on Wednesday.

In a statement posted to social media, his family said: “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.

An IG post from Rumer Willis reveals that her father, Bruce Willis, is suffering from aphasia (the loss of ability to understand or express speech, caused by brain damage) and has retired from acting, effective immediately. pic.twitter.com/bqODPg9aoR

— Erik Anderson (@awards_watch) March 30, 2022

“As a result of this and with much consideration, Bruce is stepping away from the career that has meant so much to him.”

The statement added: “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 statement, which was signed by his wife Emma, his ex-wife Demi Moore and all of his children, concluded.

Bruce Willis suffers from aphasia

Aphasia is a condition that robs you of the ability to communicate. It can affect your ability to speak, write and understand language, both verbal and written. Aphasia typically occurs suddenly after a stroke or a head injury.

The difficulties of people with aphasia can range from occasional trouble finding words, to losing the ability to speak, read, or write; intelligence, however, is unaffected.

Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series Moonlighting (1985–1989) and has since appeared in over 70 films, gaining widespread recognition as an action hero after his portrayal of John McClane in the Die Hard franchise (1988–2013) and other subsequent roles.

Willis’s other credits include The Last Boy Scout (1991), Pulp Fiction (1994), 12 Monkeys (1995), Last Man Standing (1996), The Fifth Element (1997), Armageddon (1998), The Sixth Sense (1999), Hart’s War (2002), Tears of the Sun (2003), Hostage (2005), Lucky Number Slevin (2006), Surrogates (2009), Moonrise Kingdom (2012), Rock the Kasbah (2015) and Motherless Brooklyn (2019).