Christina Applegate said the future of her acting career is uncertain after her 2021 multiple sclerosis diagnosis.
In an interview with Variety, the "Married...With Children" alum, 51, said her decades-long career could be coming to a "possible end" as she faces limitations from MS.
"We don't know what my future as an actress is going to be," she said. "How can I handle that? How can I go onto a set and call the shots of what I need as far as my boundaries, physically?"
Applegate praised the crew of "Dead to Me," her latest starring role. She was diagnosed while filming the third and final season of the Netflix comedy series but gave it everything she had.
"I don't know who is going to be as loving and understanding as this group of people were," she said. "If this is my last job, thank God it was with her," she said of Linda Cardellini, her co-star on the project.
Applegate first revealed her diagnosis via Twitter in August 2021, saying that although it has been a "strange" and "tough" journey, she was determined to keep moving forward.
"I have been so supported by people that I know who also have this condition," she tweeted. "It’s been a tough road. But as we all know, the road keeps going. Unless some a--hole blocks it."
Earlier this year, Applegate was applauded for making a bold statement about MS at the 29th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, when she appeared on the red carpet clutching an eye-catching walking cane that read "FU MS," along with her and her daughter Sadie's names and decorative hearts.
Applegate's appearance at the SAG Awards was significant and sentimental as it would likely be her last awards show as an actor, she told The Los Angeles Times.
"So it's kind of a big deal," she said. "Right now, I couldn't imagine getting up at 5 a.m. and spending 12 to 14 hours on a set. I don't have that in me at this moment."
Applegate was nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series for playing Jen Harding in "Dead To Me."
Netflix offered to stop the show after her diagnosis, but Applegate was determined to finish.
She told Netflix: "We have to finish this story. It's too important to our hearts; too important to our souls. And we have to give this gift, not only to ourselves — there are people that love these characters, and we've got to let them have their closure, too."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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