Bruce Willis’ heartwarming last meeting with Die Hard costar before his aphasia diagnosis revealed – as De’voreaux White praises the actor with helping to catapult his career

De'voreaux White – who played Bruce Willis's fun-loving limousine driver Argyle in Die Hard – has shared his heartwarming final meeting with his former co-star before he was diagnosed with aphasia.

The 58-year-old actor co-starred with Bruce, who played famed police hero John McClane, in the critically acclaimed 1988 cult Christmas classic.

Speaking exclusively to DailyMail.com, De'voreaux recalled his last meeting with Bruce in 2020, when they filmed a commercial for Advance Auto Parts' DieHard car batteries, which showed them hugging and laughing together, just like old times.

Their reunion came two years before Bruce's family announced his retirement from acting after being diagnosed with aphasia, a disorder of language processing and the brain's expression centers.

Speaking about their long-awaited reunion, De'voreaux said: 'So I'm on set and I'm talking to someone like Garderobe and this person taps me and he goes “Argyle?” and I turned around, and it was Bruce.

'And I said, 'Where the hell have you been? I could be dead by now!'

'We both looked at each other. And then he just put his hand over his mouth and bit.

“Oh, I just started laughing. And we hugged and everything. And that's what happened. The experience was wonderful. Oh, it was great.'

Although De'voreaux and Bruce haven't really kept in touch, De'voreaux revealed that every now and then he would “check in” with the star, who in turn would have his people confirm that everything was okay.

“I have so much compassion and respect for that man, it's just monumental,” he claimed.

'Oh, he helped me. You know, become an actor. He helped. He played a crucial role in what my experiences became.

“My heart is with him, you know?”

When asked what he would say to Bruce if he could message him directly, De'voreaux said, “I would say, you are not only a man of integrity, you are a man who has brought depth and weight to my life . and I am so grateful to you.

“I am honored to have had the pleasure of meeting you, working with you and relating to you on so many levels. And now I'm crying.'

Bruce is currently cared for by his wife Emma Heming, 48, with whom he shares his two youngest daughters Mabel, 11, and Evelyn, nine.

He also has three adult daughters – Rumer, 35, Scout, 32, and Tallulah, 29 – with his ex-wife Demi Moore, 61, who has remained friends with both him and Emma.

During filming, De'voreaux was given creative license to combine his scenes with Bruce and was told by director John McTiernan to “have fun” with the character of Argyle.

“I threw myself into the character because I was just learning about the goals of being an actor and chemistry and stuff.

“Bruce and I just bounced off each other. Absolutely. He's funny. He is a character because when he works, he is serious. He takes his job very seriously.'

Die Hard grossed an impressive $140 million at the box office upon its release in July 1988.

The film received four Academy Award nominations and propelled Bruce to leading man status.

Looking back on Die Hard's stratospheric legacy, De'voreaux admitted that he had no idea how big the film would become at the time of filming.

“I was just doing a job, and that was to catapult Bruce because he wanted to break out and film,” he said.

“We had no idea it would get this big.”

In February this year, Bruce's family announced that he had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) – an unusual form of dementia that causes a deterioration in behavior, personality and language.

In a joint statement they said: 'Unfortunately, communication difficulties are just one symptom of the illness Bruce is facing. Although this is painful, it is a relief to finally have a clear diagnosis…

'As Bruce's condition progresses, we hope that all media attention can be focused on shining a light on this disease, which requires much more awareness and research.'