CELEBRITY
Laurie Metcalf Opens Up About Working With Bruce Willis On Broadway: ‘Incredibly Generous Man’
Laurie Metcalf has shared a fond recollection of working with Bruce Willis from their time on Broadway in the 2015 production of Misery.
On Thursday, May 28 on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, the actress, 70, revealed that before each performance of the Broadway adaptation of Stephen King’s thriller, she chatted with Willis, 71, as he was outfitted with extensive stage makeup and prosthetics.
The Roseanne alum said, “I’d sit on the bed with him and we would talk over our day, and kids, and I was saying, ‘Well, my oldest son’s coming to town. Where should we go?’ And he goes, ‘Oh, you got to take him to Nobu, especially if you like sushi.'”
“And so the next day I said, ‘Bruce…I’m taking Will to Nobu. We’re very excited.’ He said, ‘Oh, great. I hope you like it,'” she recalled. “And then the next day, maybe after the second show, Will and I went, ordered a ton of stuff, were seated in an extremely nice booth there, as I remember, and of course went to pay, and afterwards, ‘Oh, I’m sorry, this has been taken care of by Mr. Willis.'”
Metcalf said such acts of generosity were typical of Willis throughout the production.
The Die Hard actor was “just handing out gifts right and left to the cast and the crew,” the Scream 2 star added. “He is an incredibly generous man.”
Willis stepped away from acting in 2022 and the next year, his family announced his diagnosis with frontotemporal dementia (FTD). The progressive brain disorder affects the frontal and temporal lobes, often leading to changes in personality, speech difficulties, and motor skill challenges.
Earlier this month, the Examiner reported on how Willis’ wife Emma Heming Willis has changed his diet which has already had some benefits.
