Originally Published: 30 MAY 23 10:50 ET

Updated: 31 MAY 23 05:02 ET

By Lisa Respers France, CNN

(CNN) — Arnold Schwarzenegger has a lot of love for Bruce Willis.

Schwarzenegger recently talked to CinemaBlend about his friend and fellow action star.

The former governor of California was asked about Willis having to retire due to his health.

“I think that he’s fantastic,” Schwarzenegger said of Willis. “He was, always for years and years, is a huge, huge star. And I think that he will always be remembered as a great, great star. And a kind man.”

The Willis family announced last year the actor was stepping away from acting because he was diagnosed aphasia, a condition that can hinder ability to communicate, according to the Mayo Clinic.

His family has since shared that Willis is living with frontotemporal dementia (FTD), which is an “umbrella term for a group of brain disorders that primarily affect the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain.”

Schwarzenegger said, “I understand that under his circumstances, health-wise, that he had to retire.”

“But in general, you know, we never really retire,” Schwarzenegger said. “Action heroes, they reload.”

Willis turned 68 in March.