Bruce Willis made a slew of straight-to-video movies as condition worsened

As his condition worsened, Bruce Willis made dozens of direct-to-video movies you’ve probably never heard of. Now we might know the reason why.

News that Bruce Willis will retire from acting after being diagnosed with a degenerative cognitive disorder casts a new light on the actor’s puzzling career choices in recent years.

The 67-year-old’s family revealed that he had “been experiencing some health issues” in a statement announcing his retirement yesterday – and various insiders have confirmed that Willis had been experiencing symptoms of decline on-set for several years now.

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Willis was once one of Hollywood’s biggest actors with hits like The Sixth Sense.

The actor has been diagnosed with aphasia, a medical condition that can affect a person’s ability to speak, write and understand language.

But that decline has come at a time when the actor has been more prolific than ever – Willis has appeared in 22 films over the past four years.

And as his condition reportedly worsened, his workrate sped up: more than 15 of these straight-to-video films were made in just the past two years.

Bruce Willis has churned through a slew of little-seen films in recent years.

Casual fans of the actor’s work in smash hits like Die Hard and The Fifth Element could be forgiven for being unaware that he had been working so much: The films have largely been little-seen, poorly-reviewed action B-movies with titles like Trauma Center, Survive the Night, Hard Kill, Breach, Out of Death, Survive the Game and A Day to Die.

A troubling new investigation by the LA Times, the release of which reportedly forced Willis’ family to reveal his diagnosis, reveals just how much Willis was struggling while making some of these films.

Several crew members on one recent project told the outlet that he had asked them: “I know why you’re here, and I know why you’re here, but why am I here?”

Willis also reportedly relied on an off-camera person who would deliver his lines to him via his earpiece – and had his screentime in several projects reduced once he had signed on to the films.

Willis seen wearing an earpiece to have his lines delivered to him in

The LA Times noted that Willis was paid handsomely for the films – sometimes up to $2m for just a few days work – and that his name and face would give the otherwise no-name films a much-needed boost in visibility when they dropped on streaming services.

But multiple filmmakers interviewed by the Times described “heart-wrenching scenes” as Willis “grappled with his loss of mental acuity and an inability to remember his dialogue.”

As former Hollywood Reporter editor Matthew Belloni tweeted, the LA Times report paints a picture of a “co-ordinated (and cringe-inducing) effort to keep him working”.

The seemingly endless string of poorly-received films had marked a strange career shift for an actor who was once one of Hollywood’s biggest stars. Willis dominated the 90s with hits like the Die Hard series, Pulp Fiction, Armageddon and 1999’s acclaimed The Sixth Sense.

In 2019 he reunited with Sixth Sense director M. Knight Shyalaman for what would his final box office hit, the superhero film Glass.

Willis in 2021's American Seige.

In the 2020 direct-to-video flick Hard Kill.

Since then, it’s been a constant stream of direct-to-video films, and the shift in career fortunes did not go unnoticed - the Razzies, which “award” the worst films and performances in Hollywood each year, even created a special category just for Willis (the Razzies have rescinded the award since his diagnosis was revealed).

Willis made many of these films with producer / director Randall Emmett, who told People: “Bruce and I have worked on over 20 films together. He is a terrific actor and legendary action star, an incredible father and a close friend. I fully support Bruce and his family during this challenging time and admire him for his courage in battling this incredibly difficult medical condition. Bruce will always be a part of our family.”

And while the actor himself may now have time to rest, the cottage industry in Bruce Willis direct-to-video movies trundles on, at least for now: IMDB lists eight Willis films currently in post-production that are yet to be released, among them Corrective Measures, Die Like Lovers and Fortess: Sniper’s Eye.

Originally published as Bruce Willis made a slew of straight-to-video movies as condition worsened