Scots Hollywood star Gianni Capaldi has backed Bruce Willis in his dementia battle. The actor, who became close friends with the star during filming of blockbuster A Day to Die, has said the star’s fun-loving personality and devoted family mean he will cope.
Gianni, 47, who converted Bruce into a Celtic fan, said: “You get the good guys and the bad guys and Bruce is one of the good guys. Bruce is a gentleman. My one abiding memory of Bruce was having a mock fight in our hotel bar using the seat cushions. It was all in fun and a great laugh. He was such a lovely guy and we really hit it off.
“Bruce and I talked a fair bit. We spoke about Scotland because he really loves his golf and that was when I gave him the Celtic cap. He went golfing that day and wore it all day. “He was such a cheerful and happy spirit. He loved to laugh, he loved to make people laugh.”
Gianni said his 96-year-old grandfather Luigi has dementia and he was able to spot some slight signs in the star when they were on location for A Day to Die in the US. But it did not inhibit the 67-year-old’s acting performance two years ago.
Gianni added: “When I was there at the time I didn’t think anything of it... His work was impeccable. He always pulls out a performance. He is Bruce Willis, he does it in his sleep. I can relate to what he is now going through because of what happened to my grandfather.”
Last May, the Die Hard star’s family announced he was retiring after being diagnosed with aphasia, which affects speech. Then last week, they revealed he had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, a rare form of the condition.
Gianni believes he will be unable to return to the screen with his illness, saying: “He will have too much respect for his trade. He is such a professional and will not want to put himself in the line of fire. When you have dementia it is important that you have understanding people around you. It is not a fun thing to have in your family.”
Gianni, from Hamilton, lives in Los Angeles, and is married to former NFL San Diego Chargers cheerleader Amanda Fitz. He is best known for roles in Blood of Redemption, Puncture Wounds and Nightworld, and a cameo in Still Game with actor pal Martin Compston.
In a statement posted to the website for the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration, Bruce Willis’s family – wife Emma Heming, ex-wife Demi Moore and daughters Rumer, Scout, Tallulah, Mabel and Evelyn – revealed his aphasia had progressed to dementia.
Problems with language and memory are “just one symptom of the disease”, it said. “FTD is a cruel disease that many of us have never heard of and can strike anyone.
“For people under 60, FTD is the most common form of dementia, and because getting the diagnosis can take years, FTD is likely much more prevalent than we know. Today there are no treatments for the disease, a reality that we hope can change in the years ahead.”
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