Arnold Schwarzenegger Reacts to Bruce Willis’ Retirement: Action Stars Never ‘Retire,’ They ‘Reload’

Arnold Schwarzenegger knows the golden rule: Actions stars stick together.

Schwarzenegger shared his praises for fellow action star Bruce Willis, who announced his retirement from Hollywood after following his frontotemporal dementia diagnosis. “I think that he’s fantastic,” Schwarzenegger told CinemaBlend. “He … is a huge, huge star. And I think that he will always be remembered as a great, great star, and a kind man.”

He 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 and Willis famously shared the screen in the Expendables franchise and co-founded the Planet Hollywood restaurant franchise alongside Sylvester Stallone.

In February, Willis’ family announced that the actor had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD), a rare disease that will greatly affect the actor’s quality of life. The announcement came nearly a year after this family said the Die Hard actor would be “stepping away” from his career after being diagnosed with “aphasia,” which had been “impacting his cognitive abilities.” 

In announcing the FTD diagnosis, Willis’ family said, “Unfortunately, challenges with communication are just one symptom of the disease Bruce faces. While this is painful, it is a relief to finally have a clear diagnosis… Today there are no treatments for the disease, a reality that we hope can change in the years ahead. As Bruce’s condition advances, we hope that any media attention can be focused on shining a light on this disease that needs far more awareness and research.”