Selma Blair remembers suffering from symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS) while filming “Hellboy.”
In an interview with British Vogue published on Thursday, the “Hellboy” star talked about working on the 2004 film in Prague, even though his MS symptoms had not yet been diagnosed.
“I was afraid from the beginning that one glaring mistake would throw me out of the workforce. And usually it was my lack of coordination or getting stuck in my trailer because I was too weak or sick – or basically always,” Selma explained. “The vomiting or the physical problems were horrible, (and) the baldness or the rashes.”
Before speaking about her experience with the disease, the actress recalled living in “fear” of being “discovered.” She said: “I remember being very, very unwell during Hellboy and being diagnosed with cat-scratch disease and possibly leukemia in Prague. I couldn’t tell anyone.”
“I couldn’t add alcoholism or (access to) treatment to my insurance because I was afraid of being considered an insurance risk. When I got back to LA, I broke down.”
The actress has previously spoken out about her alcohol consumption, saying elsewhere in her Vogue interview: “I took benzodiazepines and Klonopin. I didn’t abuse those things, just alcohol.”
Selma briefly retired from film and television after the production of the US remake of Kath & Kim, which ran for 17 episodes between 2008 and 2009.
“My immune system wasn’t working properly,” she recalls of filming the series. “I kind of withdrew (after the show). It was a French exit and everyone else stayed at the party. My self-loathing was extreme. I wasn’t coping well and couldn’t even try to find work.”
Despite suffering from these health problems, Selma was not diagnosed with MS until 2018.
