The Sixth Sensestar Haley Joel Osment warmly recalls what it was like to work with Bruce Willis, who was his costar in the film. Released in 1999,The Sixth Senseisdirected by M. Night Shyamalan, with Willis starring as Malcolm Crowe, a child psychologist who begins treating Cole (Osment), a young boy who can see and speak to dead people. The film was a major success and marks a key role for Willis, who has now retired from acting following the 2023 reveal that he has been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia.
In a recent interview withEW, Osment reflects on what it was like to work with Willis onThe Sixth Sense, revealing that his costar was a very positive presence on set. Osment recalls thatWillis “had such charisma” and that he served as a role model and a leader to everyone on set:
“It was fantastic. I had worked with Tom Hanks before onForrest Gumpand other big name actors, but at that point I was old enough to have seen a lot of Bruce’s movies, which added a lot of excitement to it. And that’s something that lasts your entire career, where you get to work with people who you’ve enjoyed watching in other things. And it made a huge impression on me because that was the first gigantic celebrity that I’d worked with at an age where I was aware of his stardom.
“And he did everything in such a cool way, and had such charisma, and was the person that you want on set setting the tone for the sort of movie we were making, because things usually revolve around the No. 1 on the call sheet.It was a script that we all cared about so much and put so much effort into, and Bruce led the wayon that.”
As for Willis' performance as Malcolm, Osment praises the ways in whichWillis imbued a subtle charm into a character who was generally a serious and severe person. Read Osment’s comment below when asked about what surprised him most about Willis' take on Malcolm:
There weren’t necessarily any curveballs, but it was interesting because obviously I was more familiar with him as John McClane and characters like that. And this character is much more subdued and academic, and I think that is one of the things that makes it such a cool performance — you’re able to sense all that beneath the surface, but it’s this guy who’s living kind of a buttoned-up life and he’s restrained and aloof. So that contrast between the twinkle you can see in Bruce’s eyes and this colder guy that he’s inhabiting was interesting.
What Bruce Willis' Performance Means For The Sixth Sense’s Legacy
How The M. Night Shyamalan Movie Is Remembered
The Sixth Senseis widely regarded as one of Shyamalan’s best films, if not the best. Indeed, it remains the most commercially successful of the filmmaker’s career, grossing $672.8 million worldwide on an estimated budget of $40 million. OnRotten Tomatoes, the film currently enjoys high scores of 86% from critics and 90% from audiences.The Sixth Sense’s endingand the narrative twist, of course, is what is often most remembered from the film, and it helped set the stage for the rest of Shyamalan’s twist-filled movie career.
7 Ghosts Cole Sees In The Sixth Sense Explained
Cole Sear witnesses several ghosts throughout M. Night Shyamalan’s The Sixth Sense, but their real stories aren’t always made clear by the movie.
The film came at a unique time for Willis, after he had rocketed to fame withDie Hard(1988) and become only a bigger star with the release ofDie Hard 2(1990),Pulp Fiction(1994), andDie Hard with a Vengeance(1995).The Sixth Senseis far from the only quieter and more reserved performance from the star in a non-action movie, butit affirmed that he could be more than just be an action star.
Willis and Shyamalan would collaborate again only one year later withUnbreakable(2000). The two would eventually work together again on two sequels to that film,Split(2016) andGlass(2019).
Willis' performance was relatively understated, and he, as a result, wasn’t nominated at the Oscars in 2000. Still, Malcolm remains one of the more memorable characters on his resume.Willis would make mostly action moviesin the last decade or so of his career, and many of them were under-seen and poorly received critically. Now that Willis is no longer acting at all,The Sixth Sensestands as one of his most iconic non-action movie roles.
Our Take On Osment’s Recollection Of Willis In The Sixth Sense
Willis Was A Champion For The Shyamalan Movie
Willis is key to the success ofThe Sixth Sense, and his role in the film is now only enhanced with Osment’s recollection that he was also a positive role model and a leader. Shyamalan was a relatively new filmmaker at the time, and his two previous films,Praying with Anger(1992) andWide Awake(1992) were not hits. This meansWillis' involvement is probably a major reason whyThe Sixth Sensegot madeat the budget level that it did, and potentially why it got made at all.
Willis clearly believed inThe Sixth Sense’s script and set the tone on set in a positive way, and it’s telling that Osment looks back so fondly on the experience 25 years later. As a young actor, such an experience could’ve been fairly make-or-break for Osment, but Willis evidently helped makeThe Sixth Sensea success on a variety of levels.
The Sixth Sense
Cast
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan, The Sixth Sense is a psychological thriller about a young boy who can see and communicate with ghosts. Bruce Willis as Dr. Malcolm Crowe, a child psychologist who tries to help Cole, played by Haley Joel Osment, while grappling with his own personal demons. The movie features a twist ending that has become iconic in pop culture.
