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These brave performers faced their mortality with incredible grace and talent. Join us as we look at actors who continued to work despite terminal diagnoses, showing remarkable dedication to their craft until the very end. From Chadwick Boseman's secret battle with cancer throughout his Marvel career to Alan Rickman's final films, these artists left lasting legacies.
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00:00If you want proof why you belong in Gryffindor, then I suggest you look more closely at this.
00:07Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at actors who were diagnosed with terminal illnesses, but kept working anyway.
00:14They know that this day's work will be desperate and deadly.
00:22They know that for many of them, this will be their last charge.
00:28Richard Farnsworth, The Straight Story
00:31Facing a terminal disease, Richard Farnsworth was initially hesitant to take on the role of Alvin Strait in David Lynch's family-friendly drama.
00:47However, his admiration for this man, who journeyed across Iowa and Wisconsin on a lawnmower to reconcile with his brother, convinced him to play the part.
00:58If you've seen the film, you'll feel how deeply the actor and character's stories are intertwined.
01:05Alvin is frail, but determined, facing his mortality with quiet dignity, just as Farnsworth was.
01:10I'd say that's a little bit heavy for light work, don't you think?
01:17I've got an old man's eyes, but I'm noticing some new tire here.
01:22Though he had difficulty walking, he delivered an authentic performance.
01:26The result is a heartfelt story about aging and making peace before it's too late.
01:31A story as old as the Bible, Cain and Abel, anger, vanity, you mix that together with liquor, you've got two brothers that haven't spoken in ten years.
01:48Farnsworth received an Academy Award nomination for the role, but passed away in 2000.
01:53Diana Rigg, Last Night in Soho
01:55Long before Diana Rigg stole scenes as Olenna Tyrell in Game of Thrones, she was already a star.
02:13As Teresa DiVincenzo, she wasn't just any Bond girl, she was the only one to ever become Mrs. Bond.
02:19The bride and bridegroom, Mr. and Mrs. James Bond.
02:25Sadly, Rigg's final bow came in Edgar Wright's 2021 psychological horror film, where she played the sympathetic, yet toxic, Miss Collins.
02:33A nice police lady came round, asking questions about you, about your well-being.
02:43When shooting resumed in 2020, Rigg had already been diagnosed with cancer.
02:46She died in September that same year, never getting the chance to see the final product.
02:51Nevertheless, the film is dedicated to her memory, and other actors who passed away.
02:56Sad as it is, we must say, Rigg went out with an absolute bang of a role.
03:00I wouldn't do that to you, no.
03:04You're gonna go to sleep.
03:06And everyone will sleep.
03:08You just topped yourself, because you know, they all thought you were gonna do that anyway.
03:12Jim Varney, Atlantis, The Lost Empire
03:14Best known for his Ernest P. Worrell character, Jim Varney was diagnosed with lung cancer in the late 90s.
03:24Despite his illness, he continued working, and voiced Jebediah Allardyce, Cookie Farnsworth, in Atlantis.
03:31While Cookie isn't the film's central character, he's vital to its heart and tone.
03:34Look here what I got. All 38 in the United States. Watch me make Rhode Island dance. Go on, baby, dance. Dance.
03:43This gruff cowboy of the crew is always cracking jokes, and serving comic relief when things get tense.
03:49Sadly, before Varney could finish all of Cookie's dialogue, he passed away in 2000.
03:53What? That's impossible.
03:55I seen this back in the Dakota. They can smell fear just by looking at you, so keep quiet.
04:01Voice actor Stephen Barr had to step in to complete the role.
04:05To honor Varney's contribution, the film was dedicated to him.
04:08For fans, though, Cookie remains a reminder of Varney's gift to make even the smallest role memorable with warmth and humor.
04:15I got you four basic food groups. Beans, bacon, whiskey, and lard.
04:19Roy Scheider, Beautiful Blue Eyes
04:21Son of a b**** on the scale with him!
04:23In his final role, Roy Scheider plays Joseph, a Holocaust survivor who travels to Germany seeking justice against a former Nazi officer.
04:32By the time of filming, Scheider had multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer he'd been diagnosed with in 2004.
04:38Though it was terminal, Scheider faced it for years, even throwing himself into the role of Joseph.
04:43Unfortunately, he died before the film's production could be finished, so CGI had to be used to complete some of his scenes.
04:50In a chilling twist, Joseph was loosely based on Bruno Newton, who died of the very same disease during filming.
04:56It makes Scheider's passing all the more haunting and unforgettable.
05:00Hey, mother f***er!
05:01Richard Harris, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
05:04Richard Harris' turn as Dumbledore gave the beloved franchise its first taste of the Headmaster's warmth, wisdom, and subtle humor.
05:22What many fans didn't know was that when Harris accepted the role, his health was already beginning to decline.
05:27Everyone will proceed to their dormitories immediately.
05:32Everyone except you three.
05:36At first, he was reluctant to play the character, since it required a long-term commitment.
05:41But thanks to his 11-year-old granddaughter, he took it on.
05:44Sadly, his condition worsened, and he died of Hodgkin's disease in 2002, just before the second installment of Harry Potter was released.
05:52While Michael Gammon gave his own iconic take on the role, Harris' passing shocked fans who knew of it.
05:57The truth is, his absence left a noticeable mark on the series.
06:01They burst into flame when it is time for them to die, and then they are reborn from the ashes.
06:09John Hurt, That Good Night
06:10Hey, you know where she hides the good stuff. Get me a nice glass of brandy.
06:15This 2017 British drama follows Ralph, a renowned screenwriter seeking peace with his estranged son, while also yearning to die with dignity.
06:23Hello, Michael, it's your father.
06:25Can you get here before Sunday? Yes, it needs to be before Sunday.
06:28Sadly, the actor and character had some similarities. Both were terminally ill.
06:33John Hurt, who played Ralph, had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2015, but chose to keep acting.
06:39He was in remission when the film was shot, yet his real-life struggles gave the role an extra poignancy.
06:44Watching him, you can see he understood the character's pains and desire for closure in the deepest way.
06:50Tragically, Hurt died in 2017, the same year the film was released, making it his final role.
06:56In hindsight, the film feels like a quiet farewell to one of cinema's finest actors.
07:00There's something I suppose I should tell you. Cassie's pregnant.
07:03Well, I'll have to change my will to include him.
07:06I have to leave that little bastard, something.
07:08Richard Burton, 1984.
07:10Do you know why you're here?
07:15Shall I tell you why we brought you here?
07:19To cure you.
07:20No doubt, Richard Burton was one of the most talented actors to have ever lived.
07:24His brilliance as an actor was often overshadowed by his vices.
07:28By the 70s and early 80s, his drinking had taken a heavy toll,
07:32leaving him with liver cirrhosis and other health complications.
07:35There are thought criminals who maintain that the resistance is not real.
07:41Believe me, Winston, it is very real.
07:45Though he died suddenly of a brain hemorrhage,
07:47it's widely believed that drinking contributed to his poor health and eventual death.
07:51Despite his declining health,
07:53Burton played the character O'Brien so powerfully that it received critical acclaim.
07:58Released just two months after his death,
08:001984 became a haunting reminder that Burton was a great actor right until the very end.
08:04You are thinking that my face is old and tired.
08:09That while I talk of power,
08:11I am unable to prevent the decay of my own body.
08:15Richard Jordan, Gettysburg.
08:16They will not be invited to join Georgia's ever-shrinking circle of friends.
08:21Drawn from Michael Shara's 1974 novel,
08:24Gettysburg tells the story of the American Civil War.
08:27At its core are soldiers and generals,
08:29whose choices shape the course of history.
08:32Amongst them stands General Louis Armistead.
08:34And the boy over there with the color guard,
08:37that's Private Robert Tyler Jones.
08:40His grandfather,
08:41President of the United States.
08:44This confederate officer was brought to life with remarkable emotional depth
08:48by none other than Richard Jordan himself.
08:51But here's a poignant twist you might not have known.
08:53Jordan was combating brain cancer during filming.
08:55He died in August 1993,
08:57only a few months before the film was released.
08:59That knowledge makes his portrayal of Armistead,
09:02who himself didn't survive the battle,
09:04all the more heartbreaking.
09:05When you listen to his speech about Virginia,
09:07it carries an added weight.
09:09We are all here.
09:13You may tell them when you return to your country,
09:16that all Virginia was here on this day.
09:21Julian Beck, Poltergeist 2, The Other Side.
09:23I'm smart.
09:28And I'm your friend.
09:32And I know
09:34what you are thinking.
09:37Julian Beck's death is often wrapped up in the so-called Poltergeist curse,
09:41but the truth is far more grounded.
09:43Beck had stomach cancer long before filming Poltergeist 2.
09:47He was first diagnosed with the disease in 1983,
09:49yet that didn't stop him from playing the terrifying Reverend Kane.
09:52Come on, Carol Ann, it's raining.
09:55Come on.
09:56What's wrong?
09:57He is with us now.
10:01Carol Ann, come on.
10:02Let's go.
10:03That ghostly appearance he has in the film
10:05was probably because of the illness.
10:07Beck leaned into it
10:08and delivered a performance that audiences still describe as chilling.
10:12It wasn't just about the makeup,
10:13but also the raw intensity Beck brought to the role.
10:16Sadly, he passed away after working on the film,
10:19which makes the role both heartbreaking and hauntingly real.
10:22Are you afraid, honey?
10:25Well, why don't you come with me?
10:28No.
10:30All right.
10:31I'll sing your song
10:33till your mom comes back.
10:37God is here,
10:40his holy town.
10:44Earthly fall,
10:45be silent now.
10:48Edward G. Robinson,
10:50Soylent Green.
10:50How did we come to this?
10:58Why the hell let you get out of here, will you?
11:00Go back to your foolish work.
11:02Though he knew he had terminal bladder cancer,
11:05Edward G. Robinson showed up every day for shooting,
11:07stayed professional,
11:08and gave everything he had to his role as Solomon Roth,
11:11according to Charlton Heston.
11:13In Soylent Green,
11:14Robinson plays the wise old man and father figure to Heston's character.
11:17Unfortunately, he never lived to see the film's premiere,
11:20since he died two months after filming.
11:23With that in mind,
11:24Soyl's death scene becomes more like a real goodbye.
11:27Surrounded by the image of the natural world lost,
11:29he gets a quiet farewell.
11:31Frankly,
11:32Soylent Green wasn't just Robinson's final film,
11:34it was his final masterpiece.
11:36Though he never got an Oscar for it,
11:38he got a well-deserved posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award.
11:41I fiddled this damn thing halfway around the world.
11:44I'm getting pretty sick of you.
11:47Yes, but you love me.
11:48Alan Rickman,
11:49Eye in the Sky,
11:50and Alice Through the Looking Glass.
11:52You've been gone too long, Alice.
11:54And he will be gone before long.
11:58Who will be gone?
11:59What has happened?
12:00Severus Snape is Alan Rickman's most recognizable role,
12:03but the actor almost didn't see the character through to the end.
12:06He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2005,
12:08and continued fighting the disease until the following January.
12:11With filming for Order of the Phoenix on the horizon,
12:14Rickman considered dropping his part to recover,
12:16but ultimately decided it was better to finish what he'd started.
12:18In these lessons,
12:20I will attempt to penetrate your mind.
12:24You will attempt to resist.
12:27Prepare yourself.
12:28He continued acting throughout the next decade
12:30before being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2015.
12:33Only those closest to him were told about his condition,
12:36as he continued work on Alice Through the Looking Glass.
12:39You're Alice, of course.
12:45Absalom?
12:45The film, released posthumously,
12:48was dedicated in Rickman's memory,
12:49alongside Eye in the Sky,
12:51a politically charged thriller that became his last live-action performance.
12:55Pete Posslethwaite, Inception.
12:56Smoking had been a part of Pete Posslethwaite's life since he was 10 years old,
13:01and the dependency ultimately cost him his life in 2011.
13:03Director Steven Spielberg called him the best actor in the world.
13:08British actor Pete Postlewaite has died.
13:11He had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer just a year and a half prior,
13:14and continued working right up until the end.
13:16Among his last films were Ben Affleck's The Town,
13:19for which he received a posthumous BAFTA nomination,
13:22and Christopher Nolan's Inception.
13:23Arguably the more well-known of the two films,
13:26Inception is also notable for its eerily prescient imagery of the deceased actor.
13:35Posslethwaite plays the sickly father of Cillian Murphy's character,
13:38and ultimately dies over the course of the film.
13:40The toll the actor's real-life disease had taken on his body
13:43is especially apparent in this performance.
13:44How is he?
13:47I don't want to bother him unnecessarily, but...
13:49Vincent Price, Edward Scissorhands.
13:53It is so easy to commit embarrassing blunders,
13:57but etiquette tells us just what is expected of us,
14:00and guards us from all humiliation and discomfort.
14:04Some of the best scenes of Tim Burton's gothic fantasy Edward Scissorhands
14:07are of Edward learning from his inventor in their shared mansion.
14:11The inventor is, of course, played by horror legend Vincent Price.
14:14When asked, will they tear, he replied,
14:17here and there, but they keep such a beautiful shape.
14:21The distinctive actor was a lifelong favorite of Burton's,
14:24whom he befriended while working on his appropriately titled short film, Vincent.
14:28Unfortunately, Price was suffering from a combination of a progressive lung disease
14:32and Parkinson's at the time of filming Scissorhands,
14:35making the shoot particularly difficult.
14:37I know it's a little early for Christmas, Edward, but...
14:41I have a present for you.
14:46His schedule was shortened,
14:48and the film would be the last he worked on
14:49before succumbing to lung cancer in 1993.
14:52Yusaka Matsudu, Black Rain.
14:54Here I am, Nick!
14:57Here!
14:58Almost as near as when you let Charlie die!
15:01While many actors have chosen to work through their illnesses throughout the years,
15:05Yusaka Matsudu is one of the few to decline treatment
15:07in the pursuit of a perfect performance.
15:09The Japanese actor was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 1988,
15:13but refused chemotherapy under the belief
15:15that it would negatively impact his work in the then-upcoming film, Black Rain.
15:19His condition, unsurprisingly, worsened throughout the shoot,
15:22and by the time filming had wrapped,
15:23the cancer had spread to his spine and lungs.
15:26Masuda's performance in the film as the villainous Koji Sato
15:29is spine-chillingly electric,
15:30but it's hard not to wonder how many more years we may have had with him
15:33had he gotten the help he needed.
15:35Pedro Armendariz, from Russia with Love.
15:37Quite a place you've got here.
15:39The Emperor Constantine built it as a reservoir,
15:421600 years ago.
15:43Before taking on a role in From Russia with Love,
15:45Pedro Armendariz played Jamuga in the historical drama The Conqueror.
15:49The film is believed to have played a significant role in his death.
15:52Having been filmed less than 200 miles from Nevada's nuclear testing site,
15:56Armendariz had terminal neck cancer,
15:57which resulted in a great deal of pain during filming.
16:00You know why I stay in this mad business?
16:03Although it could be that you find selling rugs of war.
16:05My friend, you should be a mind reader.
16:08In spite of the excruciating symptoms,
16:09he continued to work,
16:10with the cast and crew going to great lengths to ensure that his scenes were shot first.
16:14Sadly, things eventually became too much,
16:17leading the actor to take his own life.
16:18I no longer please you.
16:24Be still.
16:26Jason Robards, Magnolia.
16:28I don't want to do this.
16:31Sit here.
16:34I can see the things, you know.
16:37When discussing Magnolia,
16:38writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson has cited his father's fight against cancer
16:42as the inspiration for the character of Earl Partridge.
16:44He wrote the part with Jason Robards in mind,
16:47who would later refer to the role as prophetic,
16:49saying it was just so right for him to bring what he knew to it.
17:02It's a harrowing performance,
17:04made all the more real by Robards' unique life experience.
17:07The actor ostensibly had lung cancer himself at the time,
17:09a disease which would be the cause of his death just a year after the film's release.
17:13Earl.
17:18How you don't look that bad?
17:20Spencer Tracy, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.
17:22This has been a very strange day.
17:25I don't think that's putting it too strongly.
17:26I might even say it's been an extraordinary day.
17:29At the 1967 Academy Awards,
17:31Catherine Hepburn was awarded Best Actress for her role in the landmark interracial rom-com,
17:36Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.
17:37In spite of the accolades,
17:38Hepburn never saw her famous film in full.
17:40This is because it was a notoriously taxing endeavor for her partner and co-star Spencer Tracy,
17:45who was suffering from a number of ailments, including pulmonary edema and type 2 diabetes.
17:50How are you?
17:51What's the matter?
17:51You having a chill?
17:53No, darling.
17:54I'm fine.
17:55The pair powered through his worst days,
17:57motivated by the importance of the subject matter of the film's heart.
18:00It's even rumored that Hepburn's tears during Tracy's speech at the end of the film are her own,
18:04moved by the doubly relevant sentiment that true love can endure all.
18:08And there is nothing, absolutely nothing,
18:11that your son feels for my daughter
18:12that I didn't feel for Christina.
18:16John Cazale, The Deer Hunter.
18:18Even if the name John Cazale doesn't ring a bell right away,
18:28you'll definitely recognize him from the Godfather movies,
18:30among some other big titles.
18:32The actor's short-lived career consisted of just five feature-length films,
18:35but every single one went on to be nominated for Best Picture.
18:38With such a great track record,
18:39it should come as no surprise that he was a beloved figure of the film industry.
18:43Robert De Niro and Meryl Streep,
18:45Cazale's partner,
18:46were two of his loyal supporters.
18:47You know, he wasn't like anybody I'd ever met.
18:50It was the specificity of him and his sort of humanity.
18:56De Niro even paid the insurance costs necessary for Cazale to be cast in The Deer Hunter,
19:00in spite of a terminal cancer diagnosis.
19:02The late actor gives an outstanding final performance in the film,
19:05although he sadly wouldn't live to see it himself.
19:07Hey, Stash.
19:10I said no.
19:11What, are you going to shoot me?
19:19Huh?
19:20Here.
19:22Raul Julia, Street Fighter.
19:24You'll have a perfect soldier.
19:26You mean a perfect killer.
19:28Let's not quibble over a definition.
19:30An accomplished bilingual stage and film actor,
19:33it may come as a surprise that Raul Julia's final theatrical film
19:36was a critically panned action film based on the Street Fighter video games,
19:39but it all makes sense once you hear his reason for signing on.
19:42I was hoping to face Guile personally on the battlefield.
19:48One gentleman warrior to another.
19:50The Puerto Rican actor had secretly been living with stomach cancer
19:53and wanted to take on the role of General M. Bison as a tribute to his kids,
19:57who were big fans of the game series.
19:59In spite of his weakened state and a tight stunt schedule,
20:02Julia gave one of the film's best performances.
20:04Why settle for mere money?
20:07After I defeat the A.N.,
20:09what if I were to share the country with you?
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20:29Chadwick Boseman, Various
20:30The world was shocked when Chadwick Boseman was pronounced dead in August of 2020.
20:35While working through his pain, he eased it for others,
20:38giving comfort at the bedside to children battling cancer.
20:42We all have a superhero in us.
20:45Unbeknownst to anyone but his family and closest confidants,
20:48the actor had been living with colon cancer throughout the majority of his career.
20:52He was diagnosed in 2016,
20:53the same year he made his debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe,
20:56in Captain America Civil War.
20:58The task force will decide who brings in Barnes.
21:02Don't bother, Ms. Romanoff.
21:06I'll kill him myself.
21:07Although the severity of his struggle with cancer is unknown,
21:10the effects of the disease never seem to impact the results of his phenomenal work.
21:14His multi-film performance as T'Challa meant a lot to many,
21:17while his roles in films like Defy Bloods and Moraney's Black Bottom
21:20further proved his strength and versatility as an actor.
21:23Chadwick was an artist,
21:25someone who was willing to leave his vanity,
21:27his ego, everything at the door,
21:29and serve the character.
21:30Which of these actors' final roles is the most haunting?
21:32Let us know in the comments.
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