00:00The only thing that matters is what they feel and how much they feel.
00:05Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks from the most memorable movie
00:09moments performed by actors who have been diagnosed with terminal illnesses. As the
00:12title suggests, this only includes actors who were aware they were dying during the
00:16filming of their final films, so performers like Buster Keaton and John Wayne will not appear.
00:21I want to be a great king, Baba. Just like you.
00:26Alan Rickman, Eye in the Sky, and Alice Through the Looking-Glass
00:39Severus Snape is Alan Rickman's most recognizable role, but the actor almost didn't see the
00:43character through to the end. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2005 and continued
00:48fighting the disease until the following January. With filming for Order of the Phoenix on the
00:52horizon, Rickman considered dropping his part to recover, but ultimately decided it
00:56was better to finish what he'd started. In these lessons, I will attempt to penetrate
01:01your mind. You will attempt to resist. Prepare yourself.
01:07He continued acting throughout the next decade before being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer
01:11in 2015. Only those closest to him were told about his condition, as he continued work
01:16on Alice Through the Looking-Glass. You're Alice, of course.
01:24Absalom?
01:24The film, released posthumously, was dedicated in Rickman's memory, alongside Eye in the Sky,
01:30a politically-charged thriller that became his last live-action performance.
01:33Pete Postlethwaite, Inception
01:36Smoking had been a part of Pete Postlethwaite's life since he was 10 years old,
01:39and the dependency ultimately cost him his life in 2011.
01:42Director Steven Spielberg called him the best actor in the world.
01:47British actor Pete Postlethwaite has died.
01:50He had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer just a year and a half prior,
01:53and continued working right up until the end. Among his last films were Ben Affleck's The Town,
01:58for which he received a posthumous BAFTA nomination, and Christopher Nolan's Inception.
02:02Arguably the more well-known of the two films,
02:04Inception is also notable for its eerily prescient imagery of the deceased actor.
02:13Postlethwaite plays the sickly father of Cillian Murphy's character,
02:17and ultimately dies over the course of the film. The toll that the actor's
02:20real-life disease had taken on his body is especially apparent in this performance.
02:30Vincent Price, Edward Scissorhands
02:43Some of the best scenes of Tim Burton's gothic fantasy Edward Scissorhands are of
02:47Edward learning from his inventor in their shared mansion. The inventor is, of course,
02:51played by horror legend Vincent Price.
03:00The distinctive actor was a lifelong favorite of Burton's, whom he befriended while working
03:04on his appropriately titled short film, Vincent. Unfortunately, Price was suffering from a
03:09combination of a progressive lung disease and Parkinson's at the time of filming Scissorhands,
03:14making the shoot particularly difficult.
03:25His schedule was shortened, and the film would be the last he worked on before
03:28succumbing to lung cancer in 1993.
03:40While many actors have chosen to work through their illnesses throughout the years,
03:44Yusaku Matsudou is one of the few to decline treatment in the pursuit of a perfect performance.
03:48The Japanese actor was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 1988, but refused chemotherapy under
03:53the belief that it would negatively impact his work in the then-upcoming film, Black Rain.
03:58His condition, unsurprisingly, worsened throughout the shoot, and by the time filming had wrapped,
04:02the cancer had spread to his spine and lungs. Matsuda's performance in the film as the
04:06villainous Koji Sato is spine-chillingly electric, but it's hard not to wonder how
04:10many more years we may have had with him had he gotten the help he needed.
04:14Pedro Armendariz from Russia With Love
04:22Before taking on a role in From Russia With Love,
04:24Pedro Armendariz played Jamuga in the historical drama The Conqueror.
04:28The film is believed to have played a significant role in his death.
04:31Having been filmed less than 200 miles from Nevada's nuclear testing site,
04:34Armendariz had terminal neck cancer, which resulted in a great deal of pain during filming.
04:46In spite of the excruciating symptoms, he continued to work,
04:49with the cast and crew going to great lengths to ensure that his scenes were shot first.
04:53Sadly, things eventually became too much, leading the actor to take his own life.
05:04Jason Robards, Magnolia
05:15When discussing Magnolia, writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson has cited his father's
05:20fight against cancer as the inspiration for the character of Earl Partridge.
05:24He wrote the part with Jason Robards in mind, who would later refer to the role as prophetic,
05:28saying it was just so right for him to bring what he knew to it.
05:35It's a harrowing performance, made all the more real by Robards' unique life experience.
05:45The actor ostensibly had lung cancer himself at the time,
05:48a disease which would be the cause of his death just a year after the film's release.
05:59Spencer Tracy, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
06:05At the 1967 Academy Awards, Catherine Hepburn was awarded Best Actress for her role in the
06:13landmark interracial rom-com, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. In spite of the accolades,
06:17Hepburn never saw her famous film in full. This is because it was a notoriously
06:21tasting endeavor for her partner and co-star Spencer Tracy, who was suffering from a number
06:25of ailments including pulmonary edema and type 2 diabetes. The pair powered
06:34through his worst days, motivated by the importance of the subject matter at the
06:38film's heart. It's even rumored that Hepburn's tears during Tracy's speech at the end of the
06:42film are her own, moved by the doubly relevant sentiment that true love can endure all.
06:55John Casale, The Deer Hunter
06:57Even if the name John Casale doesn't ring a bell right away, you'll definitely recognize him from
07:08the Godfather movies, among some other big titles. The actor's short-lived career consisted of just
07:13five feature-length films, but every single one went on to be nominated for Best Picture. With
07:17such a great track record, it should come as no surprise that he was a beloved figure of the film
07:21industry. Robert De Niro and Meryl Streep, Casale's partner, were two of his loyal supporters.
07:27De Niro even paid the insurance costs necessary for Casale to be cast in The Deer Hunter,
07:39in spite of a terminal cancer diagnosis. The late actor gives an outstanding final
07:43performance in the film, although he sadly wouldn't live to see it himself.
07:57Raul Julia, Street Fighter
08:09An accomplished bilingual stage and film actor, it may come as a surprise that Raul Julia's final
08:14theatrical film was a critically panned action film based on the Street Fighter video games,
08:18but it all makes sense once you hear his reason for signing on.
08:27The Puerto Rican actor had secretly been living with stomach cancer,
08:32and wanted to take on the role of General M. Bison as a tribute to his kids, who were big
08:36fans of the game series. In spite of his weakened state and a tight stunt schedule, Julia gave one
08:41of the film's best performances. Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel
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09:04and switch on notifications. Chadwick Boseman, Various
09:10The world was shocked when Chadwick Boseman was pronounced dead in August of 2020.
09:14While working through his pain, he eased it for others,
09:17giving comfort at the bedside to children battling cancer.
09:20Unbeknownst to anyone but his family and closest confidants, the actor had been living with colon
09:28cancer throughout the majority of his career. He was diagnosed in 2016, the same year he made
09:33his debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Captain America Civil War. Although the severity
09:47of his struggle with cancer is unknown, the effects of the disease never seemed to impact
09:51the results of his phenomenal work. His multi-film performance as T'Challa meant a lot to many. While
09:56his roles in films like Defy Bloods and Mirani's Black Bottom further proved his strength and
10:01versatility as an actor, which of these final performances made the biggest impact on you?
10:12Let us know in the comments.
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