Director Steve McQueen revealed that he has “made a full recovery and is functional” after privately battling prostate cancer.
The 55-year-old British filmmaker shared details about his health battle publicly for the first time in an interview deadline Published on Thursday.
McQueen said that exactly two years ago, he had surgery to remove a cancerous tumor just before he began shooting his new war film “Blitz.”
He got tested because his father, Philbert McQueen, died of prostate cancer in 2006.
McQueen recalled that doctors “found out that I had this cancer, this tumor, a small tumor, and so obviously it was caught very, very early. I delayed shooting by two weeks and Then the process was followed.
The “12 Years a Slave” director spent two days in the hospital, where he worked from his bed, and then went home for 12 days before beginning production on “Blitz” in London.
However, McQueen did not tell any of the cast or crew about his health scare because he did not want them to be “worried”.
Instead, only McQueen’s mother, sister, and close family were aware of his diagnosis.
“And that was it. I really just wanted to keep working,” McQueen said. “And it’s kind of like who I am. I’m a ‘get on with it’ kind of guy,” he said.
The Oscar winner confirmed he is cancer-free today and is making efforts to get the tumor detected early. “Early detection means virtually a hundred percent success rate. Again, this is a cancer that, if you catch it early, is completely preventable and treatable,” he said.
McQueen also reflected on how his father’s death made him “want to know everything” about prostate cancer.
“Because I knew that if it comes my way, if I get it, it can be dealt with extremely effectively, and that’s the end of it,” he shared.
“In some ways, you could say, my father saved my life because unfortunately he died.”
McQueen completed filming “Blitz” in April 2023.
The film follows a young boy (Elliot Heffernan) who finds himself in danger during the German bombing of London during World War II, as his mother (Saoirse Ronan) searches for him.
Paul Weller, Harris Dickinson, Stephen Graham, Kathy Burke, and Benjamin Clementine also star in the film.
In a separate interview with deadlineMcQueen explained his thought process in creating “Blitz”.
“I wanted to see from a kid’s perspective,” he said. “Like a Brothers Grimm fairy tale, it’s very dark, but it’s almost like a dream – and I think seeing these things from a child’s perspective is what gives it a dreamlike quality. Because I’m putting you in a situation where you’re experiencing things for the first time. “It’s a scenario we are all familiar with, but at the same time it is unrecognizable.”
“Blitz” is in select theaters now and will be released on Apple TV+ on November 22.
