There are not many worse feelings in the world than knowing you have to step down from doing what you love because of forces that are out of your control. For decades, Bruce Willis, best known for his portrayal of John McClane in the Die Hard movie franchise, has been one of the most recognizable entertainers in Hollywood, but in recent years, he's starred in lesser projects while not spending much time in the public eye. And now, we know why.

Willis' wife, Emma Heming Willis, revealed that Bruce has been diagnosed with aphasia, a disease that affects a person's cognitive abilities, like communicating and understanding speech. Emma Heming Willis elaborated on what the future holds for the Die Hard star after his diagnosis.

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In a post on Instagram, Willis' wife didn't mince words on how tough it has been for her and Bruce's family, but she also vocalized her appreciation for everyone's support during such a tough time. "As a result of this and with much consideration Bruce is stepping away from the career that has meant so much to him," Emma said. "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."

What's worse is that a condition like aphasia usually comes about from brain damage sustained by head injuries. Considering Bruce Willis built his reputation in Hollywood on being an action star who did a fair amount of his own stunts, it's not hard to imagine what exactly led to him getting the brain damage in the first place. Of course, during Bruce Willis' time, the film industry was really embracing the action genre while not taking the proper precautions regarding safety measures that they do now. One can only wonder if Bruce Willis may have been fine had his prime taken place nowadays.

While fans can play the blame game all they want, now should be the time we celebrate Bruce Willis' career and his own individual impact on the film genre as a whole, most notably for his role as John McClane. Before Die Hard came to the big screen, most action stars in movies were unrealistically invincible, steroid-ridden meat heads incapable of getting a scratch on them in their movies. But then, Bruce Willis' portrayal of the normal-sized, physically vulnerable John McClane changed all of that. Because Bruce Willis' McClane was a normal person dealing with normal problems that anyone would, his relatability, along with Die Hard's popularity, changed how Hollywood approached the action film star. That wouldn't have been possible without Bruce Willis' iconic performance.

Even though Bruce Willis' appeal as an everyman redefined the action movie star, he also kept his relevance up from the 1990s to the 2010s by starring in critically acclaimed or big hit movies like Pulp Fiction, The Sixth Sense, Armageddon, The Fifth Element, Unbreakable, Sin City, Red, Looper, and Moonrise Kingdom. He may not have won any Academy Awards during his time, but Bruce Willis' longevity in show business is among the most impressive we've seen from an actor. Prayers to both him and his family as they go through this hardship.

Die Hard can be currently be watched on Disney Plus in Canada.

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Source: Emma Heming Willis/Instagram