“Acting caused it”: Julie Walters quits after cancer diagnosis
Julie Walters appears to be done with acting after her cancer diagnosis caused her to re-evaluate her entire career.
The 70-year-old actress known for her role in the Harry Potter movies recently opened up saying she believes the stress from the industry “caused” her cancer.
"Part of me was going, 'Oh my God! I've got cancer! Oh my God!' And I'm dealing with the shock of that, and it's all systems go to have it treated," she told The Times.
"But there was also an element of going, 'I don't have to do any more work. I can actually get off this treadmill.' Because I had been working really hard and it seemed like a big excuse not to do anything. Cancer trumps everything. So there was a huge relief in it, which is strange. But I needed something to stop me."
In 2018, Walters was diagnosed with stage three bowel cancer which forced her to get chemotherapy and undergo surgery.
Due to this, she had to be cut from certain scenes in her new film The Secret Garden, and also ended up missing the premiere for Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.
She has now been told she’s cancer-free.
"Acting caused it," Walters said. "Because of the way that I approach it. I have to be totally in it. Everything has to be just so. It's very stressful. You're immediately above the parapet. You're being judged. It's a stressful job and I don't sleep when I'm working. It's not good for me."
While Walters appears to be ready to call her time on acting, she'd never turn down the opportunity to return for Mamma Mia 3.
"After I had the operation and I was thinking about the future, I thought, 'I don't want to work again,'" Walters said. "Unless it's another Mamma Mia!"