Evil Dead star Bruce Campbell says cancer prognosis gives him five years to live

Bruce Campbell has said that he has about five years to live after being diagnosed with cancer. The Evil Dead star, 68, first shared the news with fans in March, writing on X that he had been diagnosed with a “treatable” but not “curable” form of cancer. Fear not, I’m a tough old son-of-a-bitch and I have great support, so I expect to be around a while.” Speaking on The Adam Carolla Show, Campbell called his current prognosis “a five-year deal”.

Because you can go down a massive rabbit hole, the cancer rabbit hole is enormous. You can go into focus groups of 10,000 guys who have exactly what you have. I won’t touch it with a 10-foot pole.” In March, when Campbell first disclosed his diagnosis, he had said work would need “to take back seat to treatment”, and that he hoped to spend the summer “to get as well as I possibly can” to promote his film Ernie & Emma.

The movie, which Campbell wrote, directed, and produced with his wife Ida Gearon, follows a retired Oregon pear salesman named Ernie Tyler whose wife, Emma, leaves him a list of locations where she wants her ashes scattered. In spite of his ill health, Campbell said he wanted to focus on life and work. I’m free and clear when I promote this movie.” “They say there's a whole mental component,” the actor added.

You have to make this decision of, ‘Oh okay, but do I ‘ve to stop everything I’m doing because of this?’ Well no. So, it’s a sort of whack-a-mole life, literally.” “You don’t die from cancer, you die from what cancer does to you. It does weird shit and then you address it and move on.” New subscribers only. £9.99/mo. after free trial.

Plan auto-renews until cancelled. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. Campbell is best known as the first actor to play Ash Williams in Sam Raimi’s 1981 cult classic horror film The Evil Dead.

He portrayed the character in the subsequent entries of the franchise, Evil Dead II (1987) and Army of Darkness (1992). He also played Ash in three seasons of the TV series Ash vs Evil Dead, which ran between 2015 and 2018. Most recently appeared in a voice role in 2023’s Evil Dead Rise.