Ever since veteran actor Bruce Willis retired from acting due to his debilitating health condition of frontotemporal dementia in March 2022, celebrities who’ve worked with him, like The Sixth Sense’s M. Night Shyamalan, couldn’t help but reminisce about the sweet memories they’ve had with him. One of Willis’ best movies was The Sixth Sense, with one of the film’s breakout stars being Donnie Wahlberg who gave a powerful performance as Vincent Grey. Over two decades later, Wahlberg recalls the impact the Die Hard star had on him during the making of the M. Night Shyamalan film.
Later this year, The Sixth Sense will be headed toward its 25th anniversary. At the beginning of the movie, we’re introduced to Vincent Grey, played by Donnie Wahlberg, who was a former patient of Bruce Willis’ Malcolm Crowe when he was a child who exacts his revenge on him as an adult for his hallucinations not going away. While speaking to ET, the 53-year-old actor recanted memories he had while filming his memorable role in The Sixth Sense with Willis.
In my time working with him, Bruce was so cool to me. ... Bruce was so supportive... He just had my back... It was a great thrill to work with him and to get to know him. Even the scene that we did together, it's one scene, but I was watching him and as out of my mind as I was on that day, I was like, 'He's so technical. He hits his mark and then he goes to the emotion. He was just so helpful and supportive.
It must have been such a comfort for Donnie Wahlberg to have Bruce Willis as a confidante taking on such a dramatic role. It absolutely was a very emotional scene to watch as we see the interaction of Vincent Grey in the nude holding a gun to the terrified Malcolm Crowe and his wife before ultimately shooting himself in the head with it. Wahlberg clearly gave his all toward his haunting performance. He expressed to ET that he went through a physical transformation “starving” himself for the role, leading to an eating disorder for two years after that. After going through a drastic physical transformation like that and saying it took him a year or two to get back to normal, the New Kids on the Block performer would prefer to never have to method act like that again.
Not only was Bruce Willis a great supporter of Donnie Wahlberg during The Sixth Sense’s filming but after as well for the film’s premiere. The Band of Brothers star continued to talk about what their loving exchange was like when M. Night Shyamalan’s breakthrough film would be shown to the world.
I remember when we went to the premiere of The Sixth Sense he just kept hugging me and saying, 'You did so good. You did so good. You really helped the movie.’ But afterward, when we talked he was like, 'What do you think? You think this movie is gonna do well?' I loved the script, so I was like, 'This is gonna be the biggest movie ever.' And he was like, 'Really? You think so?' He was so humble and curious and not assuming anything and not presumptuous.
Wahlberg’s instincts were definitely correct. Critics and audiences loved The Sixth Sense becoming the second-highest-grossing film of 1999 and earning six Oscar nominations. And of course, the movie ranks high on one of M. Night Shyalaman’s signature film twists. With the Bullet actor being a rising star at the time, I’m sure hearing Willis tell him how impactful Wahlberg’s performance was in the movie meant a lot to him. In return, Willis had a seemingly profound effect on the Boston native’s career as well.
It looks like the memories that Donnie Wahlberg had with Bruce Willis before and after The Sixth Sense will always stay with him. He continued to talk about how grateful he was to have the opportunity to work with the Pulp Fiction actor and the type of influence this high-grossing actor had on his career.
[It] was a really big moment in my career, to be across from him. He had my back and... he was so supportive and so grateful for the effort that I put in it. ... I left that movie... with an incredible sense of confidence. If he hadn't supported me, I don't know that I would have had that confidence. I don't know that I would be here right now. That's how impactful it was... It meant the world to me and then to see how humble he was through all of it was just very impressive. I try to approach my career that way to this day.
That humble approach of his seems to be working as this talented actor is going nowhere but up. He’s reaching his thirteenth season on CBS’s Blue Bloods with his long-running role as Danny Reagan. Wahlberg is also sticking with crime through his true crimes podcast series Very Scary People about the dark and twisted lives of mastermind criminals. It looks like we have Bruce Willis to thank for the confidence he brought to this successful actor’s growing career. You can spend your Friday evenings watching new episodes of Blue Bloods as part of your 2023 TV schedule and check out our 2023 movie schedule in case Wahlberg makes a return to the big screen.
