Tom Cavanagh is thrilled to be a part of “the Bruce Willis movie,” and he couldn’t be happier.

In TUBI’s “Corrective Measures,” an action-packed thriller based on the graphic novel of the same name, the “Die Hard” star, one of Hollywood’s most beloved performers, plays an evil genius.

Julius “The Lobe” Loeb, a notorious inmate at San Tiburon, the world’s most dangerous maximum-security prison, is being played by the 67-year-old. Monsters, nefarious criminals, supervillains, and cyborgs live there, all under the supervision of 24-hour power inhibitors and shock collars. Gordon “The Conductor” Tweedy, played by Cavanagh, causes havoc in the jail system.

Working alongside Willis in one of his final appearances was “a privilege,” Cavanagh told Fox News Digital. Willis’ family revealed in March that the actor was retiring from acting following a diagnosis of aphasia, a disorder that impairs the inability to interpret or articulate words.

“I recall being hyperinfluenced by his mastery of the screen when I was a younger actor,” Cavanagh, 58, remarked. “It’s not as simple as people assume to do minor things while working on a major project. Not every performer is capable of doing so. Many actors do not.

“Even when Bruce was doing ‘Moonlighting,’ he had the ability to say nothing and yet command the screen,” Cavanagh said of Willis and Cybill Shepherd’s Emmy-winning series, which ran from 1985 to 1989.

“Of course, he subsequently moved on to enormous film franchises like ‘Die Hard.'” But one of the things that always amazed me about Bruce was his ability to play an ordinary person in extraordinary circumstances. He seemed terrified and vulnerable while rescuing the day, which I believe is part of the charm.”

Cavanagh expressed his admiration for Willis’ ability to create compelling personas over the years. When it came to filming “Corrective Measures,” Cavanagh was adamant that Willis was the real deal.

“As opposed to a superhero, people can relate to someone like that,” he explained. “When people do these superhero storylines, they frequently make the error of projecting power, knowing they’ll succeed, and then adding a fear factor.” Fear and vulnerability, on the other hand, make it identifiable and relatable. It’s difficult to empathise with someone who is never terrified and knows they will succeed [before] the end of the film. Bruce Willis’ performances are such that he is unaware of the film’s conclusion.

“I’m not sure if Bruce is conscious of the impact he’s had, but those of us who get to work with him consider it a privilege,” Cavanagh continued.

Despite being a fan, Cavanagh admitted that seeing Willis on set for the first time was not weird. He said the actor was committed to the role and excited to work with his co-stars.

“It doesn’t matter what anyone has done when that acting bell goes off,” Cavanagh stated. “We all want to tell the same narrative in the same way. And when the bell rings, everyone is on their own. You’ll see how my character does in this film when he starts damaging things in prison. And I believe Bruce has embraced that approach over the course of his career… Everyone is attempting to convey the greatest tale possible in order to produce a good final version.”

Aside from working with Willis, Cavanagh, who has already made his mark on the CW superhero series “The Flash,” was a natural fit for “Corrective Measures.”

He chuckled, “I do a superhero show by day and direct another by day, so I’m semi-familiar with the blowing-stuff-up genre of comic books.” “However, I enjoy the prison-break genre as well. From the first pages of [‘Corrective Measures,’] it was clear that it combined both worlds. ‘Oh, this is fantastic!’ I exclaimed right away. To be honest, I had no idea the script was based on a graphic novel when I first read it. But I was hooked right away. So for a man like me, joining up after integrating all of those components was a no-brainer.”

Willis’ family has revealed that his aphasia diagnosis has harmed his cognitive ability.

“As a result of this, and after much thought, Bruce is stepping away from the business that has meant so much to him,” Willis’ wife Emma Heming Willis, ex-wife Demi Moore, and his five children — Rumer, Scout, Tallulah, Mabel, and Evelyn — wrote in a statement posted on his Instagram account.

“We’re going through this as a strong family unit,” they continued, “and we wanted to bring in his fans because we know how much he means to you, as you do to him.” “As Bruce often says, ‘Live it up,’ and that is exactly what we want to do.”

Aphasia can be caused by a variety of factors. It usually happens after a stroke or a head injury, but it can also happen over time due to a slow-growing brain tumour or a degenerative condition like Alzheimer’s disease. Speech therapy and developing nonverbal communication methods are the main treatments.

Willis’ family kept quiet about the reason of his aphasia. The actor’s representatives declined to comment.

As fans reacted to the news about Willis, it quickly spread online. Over the course of his four-decade career, he has grossed more than $5 billion at the box office around the world.

Willis has been consistently and frequently working. Willis, who is known for films like “Die Hard,” “Pulp Fiction,” and “The Sixth Sense,” has been producing straight-to-video thrillers in recent years. He appeared in an incredible eight films last year. “Cosmic Sin,” “Out of Death,” and “Deadlock” were among the titles that came and went quietly.

Willis’ most recent films include “Gasoline Alley,” which was released in February, and “A Day to Die,” which was released in early March. “Die Like Lovers,” “Corrective Measures,” and “The Wrong Place” are among the films Willis has already shot for release in 2022 and 2023.