Ill health ends stellar career - 6th April 2022

US action hero Bruce Willis has announced his retirement from acting. A post on Instagram revealed that the star had been experiencing health problems. It stated that Bruce "had recently been diagnosed with aphasia, which is impacting his cognitive abilities."

Aphasia affects not only a person's ability to speak and understand verbal communication, but also their reading and writing. While the condition's typically caused by a stroke or head injury, in rare cases it comes on more gradually.

Willis, who's now 67, came to public attention in the 1980s. He achieved global stardom playing seasoned hero John McClane in the Die Hard film franchise. This success made Willis highly bankable, with the franchise generating billions of dollars in box office receipts.

Signed by his current wife, Emma Heming Willis, former wife, actress Demi Moore, and his five daughters, the Instagram announcement reached out to his millions of fans around the world. In it, they explained, “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.”

Bruce spoke candidly about retirement during a 2010 interview.

Bruce Willis: "I don't think about it very much. I don't, it seldom crosses my mind to think about retiring. And I'm sure at some point, I'll either be retired by my own choice or not by my choice. I still like working and I still like doing what I do and I like the, the process of making films."

Regrettably, the choice about retirement was ultimately taken from him.