Christina Applegate says the final season fo “Dead to Me” may be her last on-camera appearance – and that she was glad to share it with dear friend and co-star Linda Cardellini.
“I’m probably not going to work on-camera again, but I’m so glad that I went out with someone who is by far the greatest actress I’ve ever worked with in my entire life, if not the greatest human I’ve ever known,” she said in an interview with Vanity Fair.
After being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis while filming Season 3 of the Netflix dark comedy, Applegate continued through to the show’s conclusion, making her first public appearance since her diagnosis last November to receive her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
She spoke of her special connection to Cardellini
“Linda and I, from day one, were in love with each other and trusted each other and supported each other,” she said. “It’s rare that you have an equal playing field and you get to play ping-pong instead of tennis. There’s a difference. Ping-pong is so much more fun when the other person is just as good as you are.”
Applegate also discussed the final moments of production on “Dead to Me,” her day-to-day health and life with MS.
“I think I just had to get away from it all, you know? I miss my friends. I miss Linda. I miss Liz. I miss James,” she told VF. “I miss the experience of it, but at the same time, because it was such an incredible struggle this last year, I’m relieved that I no longer have to push so hard to get through my day.”
She detailed how the idea of even taking a shower presents a challenge to her.
“Getting in the shower is frightening. You can fall, you can slip, your legs can buckle. Especially because I have a glass shower. It’s frightening to me to get in there,” she said. “There are just certain things that people take for granted in their lives that I took for granted. Going down the stairs, carrying things – you can’t do that anymore. It f–king sucks.”
Applegate revealed she can still drive her car short distances and bring things up the stairs, but never down. She also doesn’t desire frequent visitors because she is immunocompromised and the stimulation can be overwhelming.
“Imagine just being in a crowd of people and how loud that is,” she said. “It’s like 5,000 times louder for anyone who has lesions on their brains.”
The actress further discussed how her 2008 breast cancer diagnosis and subsequent recovery informed her boundary-setting around having MS. She also says she’s currently watching comfort shows like “Love Island UK,” “Below Deck” and “Ted Lasso.” She considers herself a mixture of Ted Lasso and Walter White from “Breaking Bad.”