- Christina Applegate told the Los Angeles Times she'll likely focus on voiceover work in the future.
- She said she needs to work after being diagnosed with MS so that "my daughter's fed and we're homed."
Christina Applegate told the Los Angeles Times that she thinks her recent multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis will prevent her from acting in front of the camera again. But that doesn't mean she'll abandon her craft altogether.
"Right now, I couldn't imagine getting up at 5 a.m. and spending 12 to 14 hours on a set; I don't have that in me at this moment," she said, adding that she would like to do a "shit ton of voice-overs to make some cash to make sure that my daughter's fed and we're homed." Sadie Grace LeNoble, her daughter with musician Martyn LeNoble, is 12 years old.
Applegate, 51, has been a member of the Screen Actor's Guild since she was in kindergarten and first appeared on-screen in a TV commercial when she was an infant. But since being diagnosed with MS in the summer of 2021, the physical demands of filming have become hard on her body.
MS is a neurological disease that has varying symptoms but often affects vision, speech, and mobility, according to the US National Institutes of Health (NIH). It can also cause cognitive issues, including trouble with attention, memory, and concentration, the site reported.
The "Married...With Children" star recently recalled filming the final season of her hit Netflix show "Dead To Me", an experience she said was "torture" as she was managing symptoms like loss of balance, fatigue, and a tingling sensation in her limbs.
"I was a wreck every day, but most of that wreck would take place in my trailer by myself," Applegate recalled for Los Angeles Times reporter Lisa Rosen."But there were times I'd break down on set and be like, 'I can't, we have to take a break, I need a half-hour,' and everyone was so loving that it was OK."
Applegate praised her co-star Linda Cardellini for being a vital member of her support system on set. Cardellini played Applegate's character Jen Harding's best friend Judy Hale on the show about friendship and grief. Applegate said their relationship off-screen was similar to that of their characters.
"She literally pulled me under her wing and protected me, and took care of me every single day," Applegate said of her friend. "Linda was taking care of me as I was saying goodbye to the person that I'd always known — so part of me was dying."
She also revealed that she had watched the final season of the series, though it was difficult for her. "I don't like seeing myself struggling," she said. "Also, I gained 40 pounds because of inactivity and medications, and I didn't look like myself, and I didn't feel like myself."
"At some point I was able to distance myself from my own ego, and realize what a beautiful piece of television it was," Applegate reflected on watching the last season of "Dead To Me."
The Walk of Fame star recipient is unsure what her next project would be, but in May 2022 The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that there was an animated version of "Married... With Children" in the works at Sony Pictures Television.
If the series is picked up, Applegate would reprise her role as Kelly Bundy from the '90s sitcom. Her fictional family members Ed O'Neill, Katey Sagal, and David Faustino would also lend their voices to cartoon versions of The Bundy family.