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Bruce Willis has been diagnosed with brain condition, will stop acting

Bruce Willis has reportedly been struggling with cognitive issues on the sets of his films for years - and even needed an earpiece to feed him lines - long before his family announced on Wednesday that the famed actor had been diagnosed with a brain condition.

In a statement on social media, Willis' family told his fans that he had been diagnosed with aphasia, a brain condition that affects his ability to understand language, and will therefore be stepping away from acting.

But an unnamed source told Page Six his declining cognitive ability had been an open secret in Hollywood as the actor repeatedly had trouble acting in his films. 

'Everybody knew, the cast and crew,' the unnamed source said, adding that Willis was 'using earpieces, hearing things, for them to feed him the lines,' and it 'was increasingly difficult to have him on screen.'

He said that films actually had to be made closer to where Willis resided with his family - who, the source said, has been taking care of the 67-year-old actor - to make productions easier. 

And in at least one production, the source said, producers began using a body double to increase Willis' screen time, while in another his screen time was 'whittled down,' with the actor shooting on set for only three days.

The source said: 'It was becoming super obvious he was having trouble ... he could not act anymore.'  

The famed actor can even be seen in a scene in his new movie American Siege, which was filmed in 2020, wearing an earpiece. This was a full two years before the family's announcement that Willis has aphasia.

Willis had previously been seen using an earpiece to feed him lines in his Broadway debut in Misery in 2015, an an unnamed insider also told OK! Magazine 

He was also reportedly struggling during the filming of M. Night Shyamalan's 2019 film Glass.

'While filming Glass, staffers worked around him by cutting and editing and having him overdub lines because he struggled to remember and/or deliver them,' they told the publication, according to the New Zealand Herald.

'In most scenes on Glass he's hooded, and they used stand-in and body doubles to replace him. On set, he wouldn't smile and was always chaperoned by an assistant to guide him while walking.'

The source also said at the time that Willis had sold his New York property to spend more time with his wife and children in Los Angeles, and said that his wife, as well as ex-wife Demi Moore, were working together to take care of the famed actor.

'His wife Emma has helped Demi Moore and the children Bruce shares with his ex-wife to make truces because they know he's fading,' the unnamed source told the magazine in January 2021.

'Between Demi and Emma, the family has always ensured Bruce has the support and care he might need at any given time,' the insider said. 

They added, 'The good news is that although there is the real concern of dementia fears, it largely has not impacted his ability to work in Hollywood – and in true super hero form – he won't slow down because new technology like earpieces allows actors of his caliber not to skip a beat.'

But in recent years, the New Zealand Herald reports, die hard fans of the actor have noticed he was taking more roles in straight-to-video releases.

This year, Page Six reports, Willis was given his own category at the Razzies - a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic under-achievements - for the 'worst movies of 2021' after he starred in eight critically-panned films.

One of his films, Out of Death, earned a zero percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

The parody awards show apologized to the actor following the announcement of his diagnosis on Wednesday, tweeting: 'The Razzies are truly sorry for #BruceWillis' diagnosed condition.  

'Perhaps this explains why he wanted to go out with a bang in 2021. Our best wishes to Bruce and family.' 

That same weekend, Emma posted a tribute to her husband of 13 years in honor of their anniversary, sharing a photo of them at their 2009 wedding.

'13 years ago, those wedding speeches really sent us over the edge,' she wrote.

Emma also posted her own birthday tribute to Bruce - a photo montage she created, writing: 'I don't just love him, I really, really like him.'

Willis shares three children - Rumer, 33, Scout, 30 and Tallulah, 28, with Moore, to whom he was married from 1987 to 2000. He also has two daughters, Mabel, 9, and Evelyn, 7, with his wife Emma, 43.