10 Actors Who Made Movies When They Knew They Were Dying

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Following their passion until the end! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most memorable movie moments performed by actors who had been diagnosed with terminal illnesses.

Transcript

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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