Arnold Schwarzenegger is known for his action movie career, and he recently spoke out about his fellow action-star Bruce Willis, who announced last year that he is retiring due to his diagnosis of aphasia, a language disorder caused by brain damage that affects a person’s ability to communicate. Willis has also been diagnosed with Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD), which is a condition or group of disorders caused by progressive nerve cell loss in the frontal or temporal lobes of the brain.
But despite his retirement, Willis is leaving a legacy of great movie and TV roles behind him. And Schwarzenegger says he should be known for even more than that.
In an interview with CinemaBlend, Schwarzenegger said Willis should also be thought of as “a kind man.”
“I think that he’s fantastic. He was, always for years and years, is a huge, huge star. And I think that he will always be remembered as a great, great star. And a kind man.”
Schwarzenegger continued:
“I understand that under his circumstances, health-wise, that he had to retire. But in general, you know, we never really retire. Action heroes, they reload.”
Schwarzenegger was not always so kind to his fellow actor. In the book The Last Action Heroes by Nick de Semlyen, it’s revealed that Schwarzenegger once yelled at Willis from across a crowded restaurant, saying, “Know why you’ll never be an action star?” Willis asked why. Schwarzenegger flexed and pointed to his biceps, saying “toothpick arms.”
Hopefully Schwarzenegger has long since apologized and become friends with Willis, because if he’s just singing his praises now after being a jerk all those years ago, that’s pretty crappy.