Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis are two of the biggest action stars ever, and following Willis’ retirement from the world of acting, Schwarzenegger has praised his fellow action star.
Speaking to CinemaBlend in a recent interview, Schwarzenegger praised the actor, saying that he was an inspiration and that, more than just being a huge star, he has always known him as “a kind man.”
“I think that he’s fantastic,” said Schwarzenegger. “He was, always for years and years, is a huge, huge star. And I think that he will always be remembered as a great, great star. And a kind man. I understand that under his circumstances, health-wise, that he had to retire. But in general, you know, we never really retire. Action heroes, they reload.”
Why did Bruce Willis retire?
Last year, Willis announced that he would be stepping away from the world of acting after being diagnosed with aphasia, which is a language disorder that affects someone’s ability to communicate. In an update earlier this year, Willis’ daughter, Rumer, announced that his diagnosis had progressed into frontotemporal dementia.
“Our family wanted to start by expressing our deepest gratitude for the incredible outpouring of love, support and wonderful stories we have all received since sharing Bruce’s original diagnosis,” said Willis in an Instagram post. “In the spirit of that, we wanted to give you an update about our beloved husband, father and friend since we now have a deeper understanding of what he is experiencing. Since we announced Bruce’s diagnosis of aphasia in spring 2022, Bruce’s condition has progressed and we now have a more specific diagnosis: frontotemporal dementia (known as FTD).”
Willis has been a mainstay in the acting world since the 1980s, when he began his career with various uncredited roles and smaller parts before breaking into the spotlight in 1988’s Die Hard, where he starred as John McClane. After that, Willis became an acting superstar, with his movies grossing over $5 billion worldwide across his more than four-decade career. Willis has also been nominated for five Golden Globes (winning one for the TV series Moonlighting), and three Emmys (winning two, one for Moonlighting and one for a guest role on Friends).
