Summary
- Haley Joel Osment reflects on working with Bruce Willis, calling him a “bonafide movie star” and detailing his generosity on the set of The Sixth Sense.
- The Sixth Sense catapulted Osment’s career, earning him critical acclaim and an Academy Award nomination at just 10 years old.
- Osment believes he was very lucky to work with Willis, and that he found it very inspiring.
The Sixth Sense star Haley Joel Osment reflects on his time working with Bruce Willis on the set of the popular psychological thriller. Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, The Sixth Sense revolves around a child psychologist named Dr. Malcolm Crowe as he works with a young boy who can see and communicate with ghosts. Willis plays Crowe in the classic thriller, while the young boy was played by Osment, a 10-year-old at the time. Even now, the movie remains a memorable credit for both actors.
Now, almost 25 years after the release of The Sixth Sense, Osment speaks to People about the psychological thriller, as well as his time working with Willis. The 36-year-old reveals that it was very inspiring to work with the veteran actor, whom he believes is always going to be a bonafide movie star. Read his full comment below:
He’s always going to be what a movie star is in my mind. And having that charisma and gravitas, and being able to come onto a set and to work with a 10-year-old, and to be really generous with his time — I got very lucky. … To see someone like Bruce do that, that’s really been inspiring to me. That whatever position you have in the industry, everybody is on the same page.
The Sixth Sense Effectively Launched Haley Joel Osment’s Career
Osment Has Built A Successful Career For Himself
Prior to starring in the classic Shyamalan thriller, Osment had appeared in a number of bit part roles. He played the role of Forrest Gump Jr. in Robert Zemeckis’ award-winning comedy-drama before later landing a voice role in 1997’s Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas as the anthropomorphic cup Chip. Osment’s breakthrough, however, came in The Sixth Sense, with his performance earning considerable acclaim.
While critics and audiences lauded different aspects of the thriller, especially Shyamalan’s clever use of gore as well as The Sixth Sense’s twist ending, Osment’s performance as Cole Sear is what stood out the most. The then-10-year-old received high praise from different corners, eventually earning an Academy Award nomination for his impressive performance. Though he lost the Oscar, he won other accolades for the part. As a young performer, his ability to portray Cole’s fear and heavy emotions made him a standout.
Osment lost the Best Supporting Actor Oscar to Michael Caine, who won for his performance in The Cider House Rules.
Following Osment’s performance in The Sixth Sense, he went on to establish himself as an extremely gifted actor, gaining further success in movies like Mimi Leder’s Pay It Forward and Secondhand Lions. While Osment’s work on The Sixth Sense rightly received a lot of praise, his performance was made much better because of his seamless onscreen rapport with Willis, who equally impressed in the movie. The thriller also began a fruitful actor-director working relationship between Shyamalan and Willis, who went on to collaborate on other projects like Unbreakable and Glass.
Source: People
