With a joint statement published on social media, actor Bruce Willis’ family confirmed that the star of the Die Hard franchise is stepping away from his career due to aphasia diagnosis.

This condition affects the ability to comprehend or formulate language because of damage to specific brain regions. It is mostly caused by a stroke or traumatic injury.

Bruce’s daughter, Rumer, took to Instagram to share the news which left millions of fans devastated. Along with a photo of her father, she wrote: “To Bruce’s amazing supporters, as a family we wanted to share that our beloved Bruce has been experiencing some health issues and has recently been diagnosed with aphasia, which is impacting his cognitive abilities.

“As a result of this and with much consideration Bruce is stepping away from the career that has meant so much to him.”

“This is a really challenging time for our family and we are so appreciative of your continued love, compassion and support. We are moving through this as a strong family unit, and wanted to bring his fans in because we know how much he means to you, as you do to him.

“As Bruce always says, ‘Live it up’ and together we plan to do just that.”

Bruce’s acting career has been an incredible one, to say the least. Over the years, he has played in a number of iconic movies which helped him establish himself as one of the greatest actors of all time.

He first rose to fame with the TV show Moonlighting which brought him an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe. This versatile actor has showed Hollywood that there is no role he can’t execute to perfection.

Among the movies that marked his career are Armageddon, Pulp Fiction, The Fifth Element, The Last Boy Scout, Twelve Monkeys, The Sixth Sense, Looper and Moonrise Kingdom.