Bruce Campbell, a legend of the horror genre, has announced he has cancer and it’s not ‘curable’.
The 67-year-old actor is best known for starring in Sam Raimi’s iconic franchise, Evil Dead, playing protagonist Ash Williams since 1981.
In a recent post on X, he shared a health update and revealed he has recently been diagnosed with cancer.
‘Hi folks, these days, when someone is having a health issue, it’s referred to as an “opportunity,” so let’s go with that – I’m having one of those,’ he began.
Bruce explained he has a type of cancer that’s ‘treatable, not curable’, adding: ‘I apologise if that’s a shock – it was to me too.’
With advancements in treatments, some cancers are now manageable with long-term plans, but cannot be fully eradicated from your body.
Bruce confirmed he needs to make some changes professionally, stepping back from conventions and ‘work in general will need to take a back seat’.
He said he hoped to get as well as he ‘possibly can’ in order to tour with his new film Ernie & Emma, which begins press in the summer.
The star added that he wasn’t trying to ‘enlist sympathy’ but wanted to share the details before any misinformation was spread.
Bruce was booked for several horror and film conventions this year, so his decision to drop out would have likely raised eyebrows without explanation.
‘Fear not, I’m a tough son-of-a-b***h and I have great support, so I expect to be around for a while,’ he quipped.
He hasn’t shared what type of cancer he’s facing specifically, sharing the ‘good news’ that he didn’t plan to go into any more detail.
Bruce is the only one of the Evil Dead franchise to appear in all five films, earning a fan-voted title of best horror character back in 2013.
He also has short cameos in all of the Sam Raimi Spider-Man films, with a more fleshed-out role lined up for the fourth film, but it never happened.
Sam did bring back his long-time friend for an appearance in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Bruce appeared as ‘Pizza Papa’, a street vendor who reveals there’s a ‘Strange Museum’ in one of the multiverse worlds they visit.
Unfortunately for him, he ends up getting squirted in the face with mustard and beating himself up when he squares up to Benedict Cumberbatch’s character.
He previously joked to Metro about working with Marvel, saying: ‘The Marvel world is the most ridiculous ongoing soap opera of superheroes because Marvel is always going back and adding to and taking away from their movies because they’ve got some storylines further down the line they want to set up.
‘Like, if I was Benedict Cumberbatch, I would be nervous that I would be cut out of that movie!’
Away from his work with the much-loved director, Bruce has appeared in cult classics such as Crimewave and Maniac Cop, as well as a recurring TV role in Xena: Warrior Princess.
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