Bruce Willis to Take a Step Back From Acting Following Aphasia Diagnosis

The prolific action-movie star Bruce Willis has been diagnosed with aphasia - a condition "impacting his cognitive abilities" - and will take a step back from acting, his former wife, Demi Moore, announced on Instagram Wednesday.

Though it can affect people differently, people with aphasia have difficulty reading, hearing, speaking, typing, or writing, and may make mistakes with the language they use.

The statement signed by the actor's wife, Emma Heming Willis, and his five children, Rumer, Scout, Tallulah, Mabel, and Evelyn, reads that they are moving through as a strong family unit, and wanted to share the news with his fans because "we know how much he means to you, as you do to him."

Heming Willis is the mother of Mabel and Evelyn and Moore is the mother of Rumer, Scout, and Tallulah.

The post was accompanied by a smirking photo of a younger Willis wearing a bathrobe, sunglasses, a gold chain with a cross, and a towel around his head, per CNN.

On their Instagram pages, Rumer, Scout, and Tallulah all shared the identical message and photograph.

Willis' reps did not respond to comments.

Bruce Willis' Career

The 67-year-old actor is most famous for his role as the rough-around-the-edges, yet clever, New York City cop John McClane in the highly successful "Die Hard" movie series, which spanned five films.

He has also appeared in critically acclaimed films such as "Moonrise Kingdom" in 2012, "The Sixth Sense" in 1999, and "Pulp Fiction" in 1994.

M. Night Shyamalan, the director of "The Sixth Sense," has said that Willis' admirably level performance in "Die Hard" convinced him that Wills could pull off the subdued child psychiatrist Malcolm Crowe in his horror-thriller, which was nominated for six Academy Awards.

Willis told The New York Times in 1997, during the last days of filming the action movie "Mercury Rising," that he was surprised to have achieved success on the big screen.

According to Willis, when he was coming up and saw movie stars - Robert Redford, Paul Newman, and Warren Beatty, "it all got handed to me pretty quickly."

Just days later, he began working on Michael Bay's "Armageddon," the highest-grossing film of 1998.

In 2013, when asked by GQ magazine to finish the sentence: "If I live long enough, I -," Willis answered: "should approach a bigger task than I approach now."

When asked if he has a motto, he responded that the closest he has is "Live and let live."

Celebrities Pour Out Support for Bruce Willis

On Wednesday, there was an outpouring of appreciation for Willis and support for his family on social media from fans, stars, and other notable figures, per Independent.

In response to Rumer Willis' Instagram post, Sarah Paulson, who worked with Bruce Willis in the 2019 sci-fi thriller "Glass," described him as an incredible acting partner, the loveliest, most gentle, and hilarious man.

In response to Moore's Instagram post, Jeremy Renner, known for playing Hawkeye in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films, wrote: "Much love Bruce !!!!!" with a heart emoji.

Actress Debi Mazar also wrote: "Bruce has given us sooo much! What an amazing career. May he rest and recover."

On Twitter, Gabrielle Giffords, a gun control advocate and former congresswoman, wrote that she is thinking of Bruce Willis and his family, adding that aphasia makes it hard for her to find the right words because of the condition that can be "lonely and isolating."

Actor-director Kevin Smith also wrote, "Long before any of the 'Cop Out' stuff, I was a big Bruce Willis fan - so this is really heartbreaking to read," referring to his 2010 film in which Willis starred.

Willis has received more recognition for his work on television: he earned three Golden Globe nominations, winning one, and two lead actor Emmy nominations, winning one, for his role as private detective David Addison in "Moonlighting," an ABC comedy-drama-romance.

He also earned an Emmy in 2000 for his appearance as Paul Stevens on the NBC series "Friends," for which he received a guest actor in a comedy.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Jess Smith

WATCH: Bruce Willis diagnosed with aphasia, stepping away from acting - from CBS News