Jane Martin
@Jane.Martin · Posted 04 Apr. 2022
Kelly Jackson
@Kelly.Jackson · Updated 04 Apr. 2022
Aphasia is a condition that affects a person’s ability to express themselves and understand language. It is mainly caused by a brain injury. Most people have experienced some degree of aphasia in their lives, for example when they stutter or struggle to find the right word. The most extreme forms of aphasia can leave people unable to communicate at all. The world has watched Bruce Willis grow old and gray over the past several years. But the 63-year-old actor has remained one of the most bankable movie stars in Hollywood, with a storied career that has included more than 100 films. Most people think of aphasia as a language disorder. But it’s much more than that. Aphasia refers to a group of mental disorders that cause people to have trouble communicating. It can also cause problems with reading and writing, sometimes called dysarthria.
Jack Penn
@Jack.Penn · Posted 04 Apr. 2022
The secret to Willis’s longevity is his ability to adapt to the times and reinvent himself as an actor. It’s hard to imagine a world without Bruce Willis. The actor has been a Hollywood staple for more than three decades, delivering some of the most iconic performances of his generation. But Willis has been largely absent from the silver screen since 2016 when he suffered a devastating aphasia diagnosis that left him unable to speak. Today, he lives in quiet seclusion in his Malibu estate, where visitors say he communicates using a single board on which he scrawls words.
Peter Clark
@Peter.Clark · Posted 04 Apr. 2022
Over the years, we’ve watched Bruce Willis go from a young action star in the 1980s to a troubled cop in the 2010s. We’ll also remember him as the tough cop John McClane in the “Die Hard” movies. But Willis has also played several dramatic roles, including a man who is living with aphasia in the movie “The Whole Truth.” We don’t often associate aphasia with famous actors and actresses, but Willis has talked publicly about his aphasia and has used his experiences to raise awareness about this language based disorder.