On that film, Burns was tasked with compressing all of Willis’ scenes - about 25 pages of dialogue - into one day of filming, which he said was exceedingly difficult. “After the first day of working with Bruce, I could see it firsthand and I realized that there was a bigger issue at stake here and why I had been asked to shorten his lines,” Burns said. Most action scenes, particularly those that involved choreographed gunfire, were filmed using a body double as a substitute for Willis.īurns was one of a handful of people who knew Willis was struggling with his memory, but he said he was unaware of the severity of the actor’s condition until June 2020, when he was directing his first film, “Out of Death.” It was among 22 films Willis did in four years. An actor who traveled with Willis would feed the star his lines through an earpiece, known in the industry as an “earwig,” according to several sources. Filmmakers described heart-wrenching scenes as the beloved “Pulp Fiction” star grappled with his loss of mental acuity and an inability to remember his dialogue. These individuals questioned whether the actor was fully aware of his surroundings on set, where he was often paid $2 million for two days of work, according to documents viewed by The Times. In interviews with The Times this month, nearly two dozen people who were on set with the actor expressed concern about Willis’ well-being. “As a result of this and with much consideration Bruce is stepping away from the career that has meant so much to him,” the actor’s daughter Rumer Willis wrote in an Instagram post also signed by her siblings, the actor’s wife, Emma, and his former wife, Demi Moore.Īccording to those who have worked with the elder Willis on his recent films, the actor has been exhibiting signs of decline in recent years.

Fifth element cast ages