Bruce Willis 'misfired guns on Hard Kill movie set in 2020 and asked crew what he was doing during the production of the film White Elephant in 2021': Directors were forced to reduce his roles due to 'heartbreaking' battle with aphasia

  • Bruce Willis' frontotemporal dementia diagnosis has shocked the film industry
  • There were tell-tale signs on set that Willis, 67, was cognitively suffering 
  • READ MORE: Bruce Willis' family announce he has dementia

  • Bruce Willis' tragic cognitive decline played out on movie sets for years before he finally stepped back from acting and was diagnosed with aphasia.

    The Hollywood icon has now been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia at the age of 67. 

    In a three-year period leading up to his retirement, Willis made twenty-two 'Geezer-Teaser' movies but witnesses on set slowly started to recognize he was becoming an increasing liability and have now spoken out. 

    The action star allegedly misfired guns during movie takes and needed someone to read his lines to him through a earpiece as his symptoms worsened. 

    Willis, who has been in more than 70 movies since he got his start in the 1970s, withdrew from acting last year as he began his fight with the illness that caused his language abilities to deteriorate. 

    In the last few years, his management made sure that Willis' film shoots only lasted maximum of two days - of which he would often only work for four hours due to his declining health. 





    • Out of Death, 2021: Airtime cut down and not allowed any monologues

      Shortly before beginning production on Out of Death, director Mike Burns sent an email to the writer of the film saying Willis' part needed to be cut by 'about five pages,' according to the LA Times .  

      Just days before Willis was scheduled to turn up on the set of one of his latest action films, the director of the project sent out an urgent request: Make the movie star's part smaller.

      In 2020, the director asked to keep his lines 'short and sweet,' offering little explanation for the sudden re-write.

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  • It looks like we need to knock down Bruce's page count by about five pages,' director Mike Burns said in a June 2020 email to the screenwriter. 'We also need to abbreviate his dialogue a bit so that there are no monologues, etc.'

    It's understood that nearly two dozen people who were on set with the actor expressed concern about his wellbeing. 

    According to the LA Times, Willis was paid $2 million for two days of work on set. 

    And there would be an actor traveling with him, sending him his lines through an earpiece because he wouldn't be able to remember them.

    Action scenes, or parts which needed choreography, were often performed by a stunt double instead of Willis, people close to the filmset said.

    The film was released in July 2021.  

  • Wrong Place, 2022: 'He was getting worse'

    Director Mike Burns was offered the chance to direct another film of Willis, Wrong Place, however he was worried about the actor's health.

    One of Willis' associates was told that the actor was: 'A whole different person ... way better than last year.' 

    However when he went to film Wrong Place, Burns said: 'I didn't think he was better; I thought he was worse. 

    'After we finished, I said: 'I'm done. I'm not going to do any other Bruce Willis movies.' I am relieved that he is taking time off.' 

    The film was released in July 2022. 

    He played Frank Richards - and told the story of a methamphetamine cook who hunts down a small-town former police chief. 

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