Netflix star warned by docs he could die during major brain tumour op
NETFLIX star Craig Russell has revealed doctors warned him that he could die on the operating table as they tried to remove a tumour from his brain.
The 45-year-old Queen Cleopatra star discovered he had a huge mass after his hearing and eyesight diminished.
Craig, who plays Marc Anthony in the Netflix docuseries produced by Jada Pinkett-Smith, discovered he had the tumour in February 2023.
The dad-of-two first noticed that vision in his left eye and hearing had deteriorated, while the migraines he used to get occasionally suddenly got worse and worse.
Convinced his symptoms were connected to anxiety, or a virus, Craig says he was gobsmacked when his GP revealed he was going blind in his left eye and referred him to hospital for a CT scan.
After spotting a mass, the Welsh actor was called in for an MRI where doctors discovered he had a tumour the size of a lime in his brain.
Craig, who lives in Cornwall with his wife Kate, and their two sons, Teddy, eight, and Henry, five, was stunned by the results.
However, before they could take a biopsy to see if the lump was cancerous, surgeons warned him there was a huge risk as the procedure to remove it was so complex.
Speaking to the Mirror, he said: “I was warned I could die during the procedure because it was so complicated. But if it wasn’t removed, it could cause seizures and strokes.
“I got a call to say: ‘We need to get this out ASAP.'”
Thankfully, the operation to remove the tumour, which doctors believed had been growing for 15 years, went smoothly and the biopsy of the tumour revealed it was benign.
Craig is currently starring in Netflix’s docuseries about Egyptian queen Cleopatra as her lover Marc Antony.
Split into four episodes it captures the historic figure’s rise and fall, as well as several other landmark events in her life.
Queen Cleopatra’s narrator Jada Pinkett Smith also discussed the docuseries and commented: “Cleopatra is a queen who many know about but not in her truth.
“She’s been displayed as overtly sexual, excessive, and corrupt, yet she was a strategist, an intellect, a commanding force of nature, who fought to protect her kingdom and her heritage is highly debated.
“This season will dive deeper into her history and re-assesses this fascinating part of her story.”