M. Night Shyamalan recently spoke about Bruce Willis and his health. Chris Pizzallo/AP
M. Night Shyamalan spoke about Bruce Willis and his condition in a recent interview.
The director only praised Willis, calling him a “true movie star.”
“I will always think of him as a big brother and remember how much he protected me,” Shyamalan said.
Director M. Night Shyamalan’s professional relationship with Bruce Willis spanned more than two decades until their first collaboration: the 1999 horror film The Sixth Sense.
In a recent interview, Shyamalan, who has since worked in three films with Willis (“Unbreakable,” “Split,” and “Glass”), had nothing but praise for the actor, whose family announced in March 2022 that he was dying will be retiring from acting due to his diagnosis with aphasia. Aphasia, caused by brain damage, affects a person’s ability to understand and express language.
“He’s a true movie star,” Shyamalan told of Willis. “I’m not being self-deprecating here, but I’m a nerdy, boring guy most of the time. But when I first got to hang out with him, I felt the electric charm of this great-looking working-class guy. He could fill a space with his humor and charm, and he could infuse that into his characters.”
Shyamalan acknowledged that Willis’ lasting influence extends far beyond the director’s career.
“Having him be so pivotal in my life and starting my career means so much,” he added. “Our families are also very close and I will always think of him as a big brother and remember how much he protected me. So the things that happen to him happen to a family member.”
Since bursting onto the Hollywood scene in 1980 with uncredited roles in films such as Sidney Lumet’s The Verdict and catapulted to stardom in the ABC series Moonlighting, Willis has had a highly memorable acting career spanning nearly four years Decades spanning, with turns in films like Die Hard, Pulp Fiction, Sin City and The Sixth Sense. His films have grossed more than $5 billion worldwide.
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