Episode 57: Bruce Willis/Aphasia

Given his recent aphasia diagnosis, the guys reflect on the career of actor Bruce Willis (1:19). The guys talk about his career highlights including ‘Moonlighting’, ‘Die Hard’, ‘12 Monkeys’ and ‘The 6th Sense’. Then Ali asks Asif about aphasia (10:59). Asif reviews the main different types (Broca’s, Wernicke’s, conduction and global), the areas of the brain involved and how it is diagnosed. He talks about how strokes are the most common cause of aphasia, but also discusses the different types of ‘Primary Progressive Aphasia’, and postulates how Bruce Willis may have one of these.  Ali then discusses some of the concerns which have arisen recently about Bruce Willis’ behaviour on set and how this may have been related to aphasia (26:54). Finally, Ali and Asif seriously question how Willis’ handlers and managers continued to have him perform in movies, given the concerns raised. 

 

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Music courtesy of Wataboi and 8er41 from Pixabay

 

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Show Notes:

• National Aphasia Association: https://www.aphasia.org/
• Primary progressive aphasia: a clinical approach:
• Bruce Willis is not alone: Other celebrities diagnosed with aphasia: https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2022-03-30/bruce-willis-aphasia-emilia-clarke-sharon-stone
• Concerns about Bruce Willis’ declining cognitive state swirled around sets in recent years: https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2022-03-30/bruce-willis-aphasia-memory-loss-cognitive-disorder
• Bruce Willis’ Directors Were Concerned With His Memory and Safety on Set Prior to Retirement: https://variety.com/2022/film/news/bruce-willis-aphasia-memory-directors-movies-1235219830/
• Kevin Smith apologizes to Bruce Willis for 10 years of Cop Out complaints: https://www.avclub.com/kevin-smith-apologizes-bruce-willis-cop-out-complaints-1848733647
• ‘Greedy and lazy’… all-too-Expendable Bruce Willis feels the wrath of Sylvester Stallone as he's replaced by Harrison Ford in Expendables 3: https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/greedy-and-lazy-alltooexpendable-bruce-willis-feels-the-wrath-of-sylvester-stallone-as-he-s-replaced-by-harrison-ford-in-expendables-3-8749641.html