Bruce Willis was helpful to the rest of the cast and locked in when the camera was rolling during one of his final films before stepping away from acting, co-star Rob Gough said.
Willis’ family announced Wednesday that the Hollywood star is leaving his longtime profession after being diagnosed with the cognitive condition aphasia.
“Even though he was going through this when he was on camera — it’s second nature to him, he just turned on, and you had no idea that anything was going on,” Gough, who starred with Willis in January’s cop thriller “American Siege,” told People following Wednesday’s announcement.
“The advice that he would give people just on a whim to him was nothing but to others it was so profound.”
Gough described the 67-year-old Willis — whose many standout films include “Pulp Fiction,” “Unbreakable” and the “Die Hard” franchise — as “a legend and just so iconic.”
“Knowing that he’s able to perform under what he’s going through, it just adds to that iconicness,” Gough told People.
“Most people probably would have thrown in the towel a long time ago but he obviously loves the art of acting, loves movies and film and, I assume, he just didn’t want to let down his fans by calling it earlier than what he needed to.”
Aphasia can impact a person’s ability to communicate. In their joint announcement Wednesday, Willis’ wife Emma, ex-wife Demi Moore and his five kids said they are moving forward as “a strong family unit.”
“As Bruce always says, ‘Live it up’ and together we plan to do just that,” their statement reads.
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