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Christina Applegate has opened up about her multiple sclerosis diagnosis and how she managed her disease on set of Dead to Me.
The Netflix dark comedy, led by Applegate and Linda Cardellini, returns in November for its third and final season. After sharing her MS diagnosis through a tweet last August, Applegate has reflected on her symptoms and dated them back to the first season of the popular show which aired in May 2019.
In an interview with The New York Times, the Emmy winner said she first recognized her symptoms while filming a dance number for the show’s debut season. She felt “off balance” during the scene, but continued to push herself, and didn’t let up when the complications began to bleed into her personal life. “I wish I had paid attention. But who was I to know?” said Applegate, in retrospect.
The actor, who had her breakthrough role in the sitcom Married With Children, received her diagnosis while working on the final season of the show. She began treatment after filming was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Applegate told The New York Times, “There was the sense of, ‘Well, let’s get her some medicine so she can get better. And there is no better. But it was good for me. I needed to process my loss of my life, my loss of that part of me. So I needed that time.”
Applegate continued to open up about how her body has changed since her diagnosis (she now uses a cane) and the accommodations she required on set. Her disease didn’t lead to changes in the script, however set directions were altered, with given examples being Cardellini having to open doors for entrances and less shots of Applegate’s physical movements.
“When Linda and I would do those scenes, it crushed us sometimes,” she said. “She was my champion, my warrior, my voice. […] It was like having a mama bear.”
Dead to Me Season 3 premieres November 17 on Netflix.
