Shannen Doherty Shares How Her Cancer Diagnosis Affected Her Filming of the Horror Movie Bethany

Shannen Doherty has spoken about how finding out she had cancer in 2015 affected her filming Bethany.

During the February 12 episode of her podcast, Let’s be clear, with director-writer James Cullen Bressack, the 52-year-old actress said she received the news of her cancer diagnosis just a week or two before filming began. (Doherty revealed to PEOPLE in 2015 that she had breast cancer, which went into remission in 2017 but returned in 2020 at stage 4. In a 2023 PEOPLE cover story, Doherty said the cancer had spread to her bones.)

Bressack, who directed Bethany, recounted in the episode: “You called me when you first started meds and said, ‘I’m not sure if I can do this.’ I assured you, ‘If you can’t handle it, we’ll find a solution, but I believe that the distraction of work will be beneficial to you.'”

He continued: “And you showed up and did your best. I remember one instance where, maybe because of the medication, you struggled with a certain speech, the one where you face yourself in the mirror… it’s all about beauty and that. ”

Shannen Doherty in the 2017 film Bethany.

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Doherty, who plays Susan in the film, elaborated on the difficulties she faced trying to focus and perform amid her recent diagnosis.

She recalled that the scene Bressack mentions, where she had to look in the mirror and touch her face, was particularly challenging. She found herself constantly forgetting her sentences, a rarity for someone known for her impeccable memory.

“My mind was flooded with thoughts about cancer — what it means and what’s ahead — and suddenly I was faced with this monologue that seemed completely disconnected,” she said.

Shannen Doherty in October 2019.

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After discussion, Doherty and Bressack decided to approach the scene without words, drawing inspiration from Robert De Niro’s quiet intensity in The Godfather Part II.

“You suggested, ‘I’ll just give it a look,'” Bressack recalled. “And you did. You looked in the mirror, tears were flowing, and you didn’t say a word. It was all in your expression.”

Doherty agreed: “It’s a moment I’m particularly proud of as an actor,” she said. “I believe it’s much more challenging to convey everything through expression alone; words can often be a crutch.”

In January, on the second episode of her podcast, Doherty and her guest, oncologist Dr. Lawrence Piro, discussed how cancer treatments have evolved in recent years, as well as Doherty’s hope that future advances will allow her to continue living a full life.

“I always say that we just have to push out another three to five years, and then it’s going to be T-cell therapy or it’s going to be this,” Beverly Hills 90210 alum said of the ever-evolving field of cancer research.

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Source: HIS Education