Bruce Willis' aphasia has been suspected by colleagues for years.

Just days before Bruce Willis was due to appear on the set of one of his latest action movies, the project's director sent out an urgent request: downsize the movie star's role.

"It looks like we'll have to reduce Bruce's page count by about 5 pages," Out of Death director Mike Burns wrote in a June 2020 email to the film's screenwriter. "We also have to shorten his dialogue a bit so that there are no monologues etc."

Burns gave none of the reasons why Willis's lines needed to be kept "short and sweet." But on Wednesday the public learned what he and many other filmmakers have been dealing with privately for years: the 67-year-old's family announced that he would retire from acting because he suffered from aphasia. The cognitive disorder affects a person's ability to communicate and commonly develops in people who have had a stroke.

"As a result, and with much consideration, Bruce is stepping down from the career that has meant so much to him," the actor's daughter, Rumer Willis, wrote in an Instagram post, also shared by her siblings, the actor's wife Emma ​and former wife, Demi Moore.

According to those who worked with the elder Willis on his recent films, the actor has shown signs of decline in recent years. In interviews with the Times this month, nearly two dozen people who were on set with the actor expressed concern for Willis' well-being.

These people questioned whether the actor was fully aware of his surroundings on set, where he was often paid $2 million for two days' work, according to documents viewed by The Times. The filmmakers described heartbreaking scenes as the popular 'Pulp Fiction' star struggled with her loss of mental acuity and an inability to recall dialogue. An actor traveling with Willis fed the star his lines through an earpiece known in the industry as a "catchy tune," according to multiple sources. Most of the action scenes, particularly those involving choreographed gunfire, were shot with a body double replacing Willis.

In an alleged incident two years ago on a set of the film "Hard Kill" in Cincinnati, Willis unexpectedly fired a blank-loaded gun on the wrong cue, according to two people familiar with the incident who were not authorized to comment. Nobody was injured. The film's producer denied the incident took place, but the alleged firing left actors and crew members shaken.

Burns was one of the few people who knew that Willis was struggling with his memory, but he said he was unaware of the seriousness of the actor's condition until June 2020, when he was directing his first film, Out of Death. It was one of 22 films Willis made in four years.

"After the first day working with Bruce, I was able to see it firsthand and realized there was a bigger issue at stake here and why I had been asked to cut his lines," Burns said. On this film, Burns was tasked with condensing all of Willis's scenes - about 25 pages of dialogue - into one day of shooting, which he felt was an extremely difficult one. At the end of the day, Burns felt conflicted.

Last fall, Burns was offered to direct another Willis film, Wrong Place, but he was worried about the actor's health.

Burns said he called one of Willis's associates and asked him, "How's Bruce?" Burns said he was told Willis was "a whole different person... much better than last year." "I took him at his word," Burns said.

But when they started filming the movie last October,

“I didn't think it was any better; I thought he was worse," Burns said. "After we were done, I said, 'I'm done. I will not do any other Bruce Willis films.' I'm relieved he's taking some time off."

A representative for Willis declined to comment beyond the family's statement.

Willis' longtime management team - including a powerful group of agents from Creative Artists Agency - ensured his filming was limited to two days. The actor's contracts stipulated that he should work no more than eight hours a day, but he often only stayed four hours, according to production sources.

Meanwhile, fans online began asking why Willis was putting out so many low-budget films, most of which were panned by critics. The group behind the Razzie Awards, which compile a list of the industry's worst films each year, created an entire category for Willis' films in February.

Some film directors have told the Times that they have been shocked by Willis's condition over the past year.

Jesse V. Johnson, who directed the low-budget film White Elephant, first worked with Willis decades ago when he was a stuntman. But when the filmmaker and actor met briefly in Georgia before filming began last April, "it was clear he wasn't the Bruce I remembered," Johnson said.

Concerned about Willis' mental health, he said he reached out to the actor's team -- led by his assistant and handler Stephen J. Eads -- and asked them bluntly about the actor's condition.

"They explained that he was happy to be there but that it would be best if we could finish filming by lunchtime and let him go earlier," Johnson recalled of the conversation. The filmmakers were quick to film the actor's roles, even as Willis asked where he was: "I know why you're here, and I know why you're here, but why am I here?" Two crew members said he had aloud asked.

"It wasn't so much annoying as, 'How do we not make Bruce look bad?'" said one of the crew members. "Someone gave him a line and he didn't understand what it meant. He was just being screwed.”

Johnson, the director, said he was then offered the opportunity to make two more films with Willis, so he discussed the situation with his creative team.

"After our experience with 'White Elephant,' it was decided as a team that we wouldn't do another one," Johnson said. "We're all Bruce Willis fans and the arrangement felt wrong and ended up being a pretty sad ending to an incredible career that none of us felt comfortable with."

Though he has appeared in more than 70 films since he began acting in the 1970s, Willis is still best known for playing detective John McClane in the Die Hard franchise. The role - which he reprized in five films - helped cement his status as one of Hollywood's premier action heroes, earning him roles in films such as Pulp Fiction and The Fifth Element. Though often recognized as a crowd pleaser rather than a critical darling, he received a Golden Globe for his role opposite Cybill Shepherd in the 1980s television series Moonlighting and has worked with directors including Wes Anderson and Terry Gilliam.

Even as Willis' health deteriorated, he remained in high demand.

His involvement in films - if only for a few minutes - helped low-budget independent filmmakers sell their films internationally. Willis' face on a movie poster or a series of thumbnails from streaming services helped draw viewers to his films. In recent years, Willis has worked primarily for two film production companies: Los Angeles-based Emmett/Furla Oasis, and 308 Entertainment Inc., a Vancouver-based company owned by actor and producer Corey Large, according to IMDb.com.

In January 2020, actress Lala Kent, a star of Bravo's reality show Vanderpump Rules, was cast as the action hero's daughter in Hard Kill. In one scene, Kent said, Willis' character was written to step in and protect her from bad guys.

"I should think my life is ending and then my dad steps in to save the day," Kent said, describing how her back was turned to Willis in the scene. Willis was supposed to deliver a line that Kent used as a cue to duck before firing the gun at a villain. Instead, he fired the gun before delivering the line - and the actress couldn't duck.

"Because I had my back 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,'" she said.

Kent said she asked director Matt Eskandari to remind Willis to say his line before firing the gun.

But the same thing happened on the second take, Kent said. Eskandari did not respond to calls seeking comment, but a second crew member said he recalled Kent being rocked that day. A third crew member, also not authorized to comment publicly, said he recalled a situation where Willis "fired the gun down the wrong line."

But the crew member added: "We always made sure that nobody was in the line of fire when handling weapons."

Emmett/Furla Oasis co-founder Randall Emmett, who has worked on 20 Willis films, declined to comment on Willis' condition, citing medical privacy laws. But Emmett, Kent's former fiance, denies Willis fired a gun prematurely. The film's armorer denied that the incident took place.

In a statement, Emmett said: "I fully support Bruce and his family during this challenging time and admire him for his courage in battling this difficult condition. Bruce will always be a part of our family.”

Willis had a large entourage that accompanied him on set, and its members protected the actor, according to several filmmakers.