Haley Joel Osment hails co-star Bruce Willis for nurturing him as a child star

Haley Joel Osment has recalled how “involved” Bruce Willis was in nurturing him as a child star in ‘The Sixth Sense’.

Haley Joel Osment says Bruce Willis “took a deep interest” in helping him nail his performance in ‘The Sixth Sense’.

The 37-year-old actor is best known for having starred opposite the Hollywood action legend in the 1999 thriller, when he was just 10 years old.

Osment has recalled how committed the 70-year-old actor – who is suffering with with frontotemporal dementia – was to helping him succeed as a child star.

From his experiences, Osment has followed in Willis’ footsteps and will do anything to “protect” fellow child stars.

Speaking on ‘The Three Questions with Andy Richter’ podcast, he shared: “The kids I’ve worked with seem like they’re coming from good family situations and everything, but you do have this ‘protective’ feeling.

“I had a great experience, and I want to make that possible for somebody on the set, too.”

He continued: “I had so many people who went out of their way to help me. Bruce Willis, who would not only do off-camera stuff [with me], but really worked with me at night to try and help get the right performance down. He really took a deep interest and involvement in helping a 10-year-old try and do his job.”

On his special bond with other child stars: “We both have this shared experience that is almost hard to put into words, but it’s a cool little connection that you can have.”

The ‘Blink Twice’ actor loves his job regardless of his work being a hit.

He explained: “I think that is a big risk with anything. With people who excel in sports, or something like that, too, there’s a big risk of having that anticlimax. But, just because of the nature of my job, I just love that every day I go to work, there’s something new for me to learn. Whether it’s a big, successful show or a non-successful show, the work itself is still this puzzle that I want to solve every time, and that makes it rewarding.”

He added: “That’s definitely something my dad instilled in me. And then, my mom was definitely the most suspicious of the industry and the one still saying, ‘You can be a veterinarian,’ when I’m like 15 years old.”