Haley Joel Osment Keeps Bruce Willis 'Very Close' to His Heart 25 Years After “The Sixth Sense”
Osment told 'Entertainment Tonight' that Willis was "the epitome of a movie star and a really nice person"
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Haley Joel Osment and Bruce WillisHaley Joel Osment is reflecting on working with Bruce Willis in The Sixth Sense as the movie celebrates its 25th anniversary.
At the premiere of his latest film, Blink Twice, Osment, 36, told Entertainment Tonight that he keeps his memories of working with Willis, 69, "very close" to his heart.
The Die Hard star's family shared in March 2022 that he was stepping out of the public eye after receiving a diagnosis of aphasia. The following year, in February 2023, Willis' family announced that the severity of his condition had "progressed" and he has received a diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia.
On the red carpet in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Aug. 8, Osment had kind words for ET about working with Willis on the horror classic that launched the younger actor's career.
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Haley Joel Osment arrives at the Los Angeles Premiere Of Prime Video's "Somebody I Used To Know" in 2023The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!
"It was so wonderful working with him and, I mean, I was so grateful to have had that experience and to meet this guy who was the epitome of a movie star and a really nice person," he said.
Osment received critical acclaim, including an Academy Award nomination, for his role as Cole Sear, a little boy who eventually realizes he can see dead people, in The Sixth Sense.
Related: The Cast of The Sixth Sense: Where Are They Now?
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Willis and Osment in 'The Sixth Sense'He was 11 years old when the film, directed by M. Night Shyamalan, premiered in 1999.
Osment has continually had kind words about working with Willis and his former costar's support.
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Bruce WillisDuring an appearance on The Adam Carolla Show in March 2024, Osment recalled that the Pulp Fiction star would regularly leave supportive messages on his family's answering machine as he was growing up.
"He would leave voice messages at our family home when I was in elementary school and high school on this Nickelodeon phone we used to have," Osment said, laughing.
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