Arnold Schwarzenegger reacts to Bruce Willis' acting retirement post dementia diagnosis

Arnold Schwarzenegger recently commented on Bruce Willis' retirement from acting post his frontemporal dementia diagnosis. Expressing his fondness for Willis' work, Schwarzenegger commended the former's decision to spend time with his family while grappling with his condition. Schwarzenegger and Willis had previously shared screen space in the Expendables franchise, also having financially collaborated with their joint venture - the Planet Hollywood restaurant franchise.

Schwarzenegger on Willis

In a conversation with CinemaBlend, Arnold Schwarzenegger opened up about his feelings regarding Bruce Willis' retirement from acting and showbiz. Schwarzenegger reflected on Willis' star power and value, emphasising how the now retired actor is "fantastic" and a "huge, huge star", the Terminator: Dark Fate actor also affirmed his kind and warm nature. He said, "I think that he's fantastic. He is a huge, huge star and I think that he will always be remembered as a great, great star, and a kind man." The former Governor of California also sensitively added that given Willis' condition, the fact that the actor chose to retire is completely understandable and commendable from the perspective of his health. Adding a final poignant statement about Willis, Schwarzenegger said, "...we never really retire, action heroes, they reload." 

Bruce Willis' retirement

Bruce Willis' retirement comes in the wake of his previous diagnosis of aphasia in 2022 after which came his diagnosis of frontemporal dementia, which was publicly shared by wife Emma Heming Willis, earlier this year. Emma had shared how Bruce has always believed in using one's voice to serve a cause by raising awareness about it. Referring to his diagnosis, Emma went on to affirm how if Bruce could have spoken out about the condition in lieu of bringing help, awareness and acknowledgement to the many suffering from it, he would. Ex-wife Demi Moore has also time and again voiced her support for Bruce, even celebrating his birthday earlier this year in tow with all his children. 

More on Bruce Willis' medical condition

Frontemporal dementia is a kind of dementia which impacts the front and temporal lobes of the brain. This essentially means that the lobes tend to shrink overtime which naturally results in functional issues of various kinds such as difficulty in speech, changes in personality and so on. The symptoms for this diagnosis tend to worsen over time.