M. Night Shyamalan's Response To Bruce Willis' Retirement Will Bring You To Tears

Bruce Willis has been a household name for several decades, ever since he starred in 1988's "Die Hard" as John McClane. Since then, he has starred in films across all genres, such as Quentin Tarantino's 1994 black comedy "Pulp Fiction," the 1997 sci-fi film "The Fifth Element" and Wes Anderson's 2012 coming-of-age drama "Moonrise Kingdom," to name just a few. Adding on to his expansive filmography — Willis has over 100 credits to his name — he also has eight films in post-production (via IMDb).

Given the actor's expansive career — including numerous beloved and popular films — fans of Willis were heartbroken to learn that the actor has decided to step away from acting due to a diagnosis of a brain disorder called aphasia. Willis' daughter, Rumer Willis, took to Instagram to make the announcement, writing, "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."

Following the announcement, many fans and celebrities have expressed their support for Willis. Now, another celebrity, director M. Night Shyamalan — who has collaborated with Willis on several films — has responded to the news of Willis' diagnosis and retirement and his words may very likely make you tear up.

Filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan took to Twitter to express his support for Bruce Willis, writing, "All my love and respect to my big brother Bruce Willis. I know his wonderful family is surrounding him with support and strength. He will always be that hero on that poster on my wall as [a] kid." Shyamalan has directed Willis in three films: 1999's "The Sixth Sense," 2000's "Unbreakable" and 2019's "Glass." Willis also made a cameo appearance in "Split," the 2016 predecessor to "Glass."

In a 2019 interview with Tass, Shyamalan spoke more about that poster that he had of the actor. Shyamalan said, "He was my hero. As a kid I had a 'Die Hard' poster up on my wall forever. And when I was writing 'The Sixth Sense' and there was this 'Die Hard' poster, I thought, 'What about that guy? He could play it.'"

The director also spoke to Tass about his experience working with Willis over the years, expressing nothing but praise for the veteran actor. He began by noting that they "believe in each other so much," before crediting Willis for helping to launch his career. Shyamalan continued, "I owe [Willis] a lot, I owe him my career really, to be honest. No kid, who's 24-25 years old writes a movie and has a superstar say yes and then lets them make it exactly the way that they want to make it. And I had all these crazy theories about making movies and he let me do all of it."