While filming her Netflix comedy Dead to Me, Christina Applegate overlooked an early indication of multiple sclerosis (MS).
According to Knewz.com, the 53-year-old anchor actress thinks a fall she had on set while filming a jogging sequence was caused by the disease she was later diagnosed with.
Regarding her fall, Applegate stated: “Hey, MS’s first sign! Not to depress everyone, but it was there.
Liz Feldman, 47, creator of Dead to Me, reported that she had seen Applegate, who appeared in the show’s three seasons from 2019 to 2022, suffer from health issues, but she attributed it to long hours on set.
“I recall you losing your balance a few times when we were shooting the pilot,” she remarked.
“You know, it was extremely late at night one time, so it was really difficult to figure it out.
“We’d been shooting probably 14 or 15 hours it seemed completely reasonable that anybody would be collapsing.”
Applegate claimed that “it was MS” and went on to work on the third season of the show after receiving her diagnosis.
In spite of her health problem, Feldman thought she was sympathetic to Applegate, which is also known for Married… with Children and Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead.
She clarified: “I could tell that she was afraid and that something was off with her body since it wasn’t functioning the way she wanted it to.
“This does not have a manual.
“I can’t compare it to any experience I’ve ever gone through with a person before.”
As the third season of the show was filming, Feldman claimed she “just always tried to put (Applegate’s) health first in my mind,” informing the actress that her health came before “just aTV show.”
She said Applegate, according to Feldman: “At the end of the day, yeah, maybe it’ll reach people and help people and entertain people, but this is your life.”
According to Applegate, Feldman and the Netflix crew made special accommodations for her during her MS battle, pausing production for a week to allow her to recover.
“I’m so grateful that you guys are human because you should be human and love other humans because that wouldn’t happen anywhere else,” Applegate said. “I can’t even tell you that’s not the normal reaction.”
Linda Cardellini, James Marsden, Sam McCarthy, Luke Roessler, Max Jenkins, Diana Maria Riva, and Brandon Scott were also featured in the series.
In the dark comedy, Applegate and Cardellini portrayed Jen Harding and Judy Hale, respectively, as two grieving women who become closer during treatment.
Applegate received two nominations for her efforts in the main role, and the show received six Primetime Emmy nominations.
In an interview with Kelly Clarkson in December 2022, Applegate said the show gave her ‘this bizarre platform of dealing’ with the disease that changed her life.
“The beauty of Dead to Me is that I didn’t have to be on all the time, I didn’t have to make all the jokes, and I could fail in a flash,” she remarked.
“And that was me, sort of. It was cathartic in a lovely manner, but it was basically my soul disintegrating in front of the world.
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