Bruce Willis' acting career may be over, according to a new statement from his family.

The actor, who is best known for his leading role in the Die Hard movie franchise, has apparently been diagnosed with aphasia, a mental condition that can impair one's ability to speak or even understand language. His family made the announcement on his Instagram today:

The post reads:

"To Bruce's amazing supporters, as a family we wanted to share that our beloved Bruce has been experiencing some health issues and has recently been diagnosed with aphasia, which is impacting his cognitive abilities. As a result of this and with much consideration Bruce is stepping away from the career that has meant so much to him.

"This is a really challenging time for our family and we are so appreciative of your continued love, compassion and support. 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.

"As Bruce always says, "Live it up" and together we plan to do just that."


Aphasia isn't a disease in and of itself - it's a mental condition, usually brought about by another condition or disorder. The most common cause is brain damage resulting from a stroke, but it can also be caused by things such as head injuries or tumors. Sometimes aphasia can also come on gradually as the result of other deteriorative processes in the brain and may progress to a more complete dementia.

Treatments for aphasia vary in effectiveness based on how far progressed the person's cognitive disabilities are at the time of intervention - most never recover their language skills completely, but in some cases of mild damage, speech and language therapy can help them to make a recovery. Researchers are also currently experimenting with medication for the issue, but the process is still in the early stages.

We hope that Bruce Willis and his family are getting all of the care, love, and sensitivity they need at this clearly difficult time.

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