Bruce Willis will be "stepping away" from acting due to health issues, his family has announced.

Willis, 67, has recently been diagnosed with aphasia, which is a condition that affects the use of the left side of the brain. 

In a post on social media, his eldest daughter Rumer Willis said: "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.”

The actor is known for films such as Die Hard, Pulp Fiction and Red. 

What is aphasia? 

According to the NHS, aphasia is when a person has difficulty with their language or speech.

It's usually caused by damage to the left side of the brain such as after a stroke. 

There are four main things people with aphasia often have trouble with:

  • reading
  • listening
  • speaking
  • typing or writing 

Aphasia is often classified as "expressive" or "receptive", depending on whether there are difficulties with understanding or expressing language, or both.

Most people with aphasia have some trouble with their speaking, and will have a mixture of problems with writing, reading and perhaps listening.