Following Hollywood star Bruce Willis’s recent medical diagnosis, Liam Neeson has shared that he “thinks about Bruce Willis” every day, particularly the former’s retirement from acting after being diagnosed with a disorder that affects the understanding and expression of language, according to reports.
“My heart goes out to him. I think about him every day,” Neeson told The New York Post, adding that the medical condition of aphasia is “particularly poignant” for a star like Willis.
“I wish him all the best.”
The Co Antrim actor was speaking ahead of the release of his new movie Memory, which sees his own character – a deadly assassin – try to cope with the onset of Alzheimer’s.
“In doing some research for this, I watched some very traumatic documentaries on the affliction of Alzheimer’s and dementia, and read some books on it of course,” he continued.
“And I have a friend in Ireland, who is older than me, [who] has very definite early stages of dementia, which is traumatic to see … It is a horrible affliction. It really is.
“I know several actors in London … who have lost the ability to learn lines. They just can’t learn the material. And these are actors who have given extraordinary performances on stage and on film and television.”
The Ballymena native also admitted that he would like to reprise his role as Qui-Gon Jinn in the Star Wars saga, but under only one condition – it would have to be for a movie.
