Bruce Willis' costar, Lala Kent, recalls a scary incident on the set of Hard Kill involving Willis discharging a gun at the wrong time. After more than four decades of appearing in TV and movies, Willis' retirement from acting was announced yesterday due to ongoing struggles with aphasia. The medical condition affects cognition and the ability to verbally communicate, and is usually caused by a stroke, head injury, brain tumor, or a disease. The 67-year-old actor has starred in beloved hits such as the Die Hard franchise, Pulp Fiction, The Sixth Sense, and Unbreakable, and has seen an outpouring of support from actors and fans alike since the announcement.
In addition to his classic roles, Willis has kept working as of late, appearing in nearly two dozen films - typically smaller, straight-to-DVD action thrillers - in the last four years. One such movie is 2020's Hard Kill, in which he plays a tech billionaire whose daughter, played by Kent, is kidnapped by a terrorist organization. Although Willis is now retired from acting, he still has a handful of movies set to be released in the next year or so, including Fortress: Sniper's Eye, The Wrong Place, Die Like Lovers, Corrective Measures, Wire Room, White Elephant, and Paradise City.
According to a new report from the LA Times, Willis' declining cognitive abilities resulted in a scary incident on the set of Hard Kill during filming. Kent recalls a scene in which the star was supposed to give her a verbal cue so that she could duck before he fired his blank-loaded gun. Willis forgot to say the cue, meaning Kent had no warning before he fired the weapon. Kent explains that director Matt Eskandari then reminded Willis to say the line before firing the gun, but, on the next take, he forgot again. Check out Kent's comment on the incident below:
I’m supposed to think my life is about to end, and then my dad steps in to save the day. Because my back was to him, I wasn’t aware of what was happening behind me. But the first time, it was like, ‘No big deal, let’s reset.'
It has been confirmed that nobody was ever in the line of fire while Willis was handling a gun on the set of Hard Kill, but the incident is still indicative of how dangerous his condition could be. The gun was loaded with blanks, but, as has been demonstrated in the past with tragic instances such as the death of Brandon Lee on the set of The Crow, blanks still have the ability to kill. Thankfully, the incident on the set of Hard Kill didn't result in any injuries, but it certainly must have been more than a little concerning to Kent and the others on set.
While not remembering lines can be trouble enough on a film set, discharging a gun loaded with blanks at the wrong time has the potential to be disastrous. Willis has gifted audiences many unforgettable films and performances, but with his condition affecting his cognitive abilities so severely, it's for the best that the iconic actor has announced his retirement. Although Willis' movies over the last few years have been mostly unremarkable, projects like Die Hard and Pulp Fiction will stand the test of time, reaffirming his status as one of the defining stars of the last thirty years.
Source: LA Times
