Filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan is back with yet another thriller on his hands with the Josh Hartnett starrer Trap. The filmmaker is known for his sci-fi thrillers and psychological mysteries, with a trademark twist ending that changes the whole film. He has been successful in films such as The Sixth Sense, The Visit, Signs, and Split.
Shyamalan has collaborated with actor Bruce Willis in multiple films, including his superhero/horror franchise Unbreakable. The two joined hands for the first time in the horror film The Sixth Sense which was a huge blockbuster establishing Shyamalan as a leading director. The filmmaker recalled an incident where Bruce Willis gave him a legendary compliment.
Bruce Willis’ Wonderful Compliment To M. Night Shyamalan Which He Will Never Forget
Bruce Willis was at his peak in the ‘90s as he had come off of his legendary role in the sitcom Moonlighting and had established himself as an action star with the Die Hard films. He had also been a part of one of the greatest films ever made, Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction, which had received universal acclaim and many accolades.
Willis joined the cast of M. Night Shyamalan’s The Sixth Sense in 1999. The filmmaker had only directed the independent drama Praying with Anger and the comedy Wide Awake when he got to make his first big-budget thriller The Sixth Sense. The filmmaker mentioned in an interview with Jake’s Takes recently how much he admired Bruce Willis at the time,
“He is this blue-collar hero that I grew up with, and not just for me but for Quentin [Tarantino] and Wes [Anderson], and you name it, Fifth Element. Every time, he took risks and just jumped in, and when he believed in you, he was just behind you, and would be the muscle behind you to go ‘Hey, go for it.’”
Shyamalan recalled one incident where Willis called for him in his trailer while filming The Sixth Sense. M. Night Shyamalan, who was then twenty-nine was reportedly extremely nervous as he thought he was going to get yelled at. However, when he got to the trailer, Shyamalan reportedly received his best compliment ever. He said,
“He was like ‘I’ve only felt this one other time, what you made me feel, [which was] with Pulp Fiction and Quentin.’ …It was tough to get on his good side, but once you did, he was your big brother and just fought for you in any circumstance.”
Shyamalan went on to say how Willis would stand up for the script if he believed in a director, even if the filmmaker was younger and inexperienced in handling bigger budgets.
Why Did Bruce Willis Retire From Acting?
Bruce Willis and M. Night Shyamalan collaborated on multiple films together. After the success of The Sixth Sense, the duo reunited in the superhero film Unbreakable which became a cult classic. The film’s realistic treatment of the superhero genre, which predated films such as The Dark Knight, was lauded by critics and audiences.
The two would join again years later, first in a cameo in the 2016 film Split and then Glass, which is a direct sequel to Unbreakable. Despite it being a commercial success, Shyamalan said that he would not be making any more sequels in the franchise (via IndieWire). With Willis retiring from acting, Glass might just be their final collaboration together.
Bruce Willis was diagnosed with aphasia and then frontotemporal dementia, leading him to take a retirement from acting. The actor’s family released a statement that he would be stepping away from his career as he began his treatment. The statement read,
“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.”
In the latter part of his career, Bruce Willis reportedly starred in a bunch of direct-to-video films that were considered for the Golden Raspberry Awards. The Razzies had reportedly even included a category called ‘Worst Bruce Willis Performance In a 2021 Movie’, which was later removed after his aphasia diagnosis (via Deadline).
