Julia Louis-Dreyfus has credited her hit show Veep for helping her beat breast cancer.
The comic actress, 58, announced she had the disease back in September 2017, shortly before beginning work on the presidential comedy’s seventh and final season. She revealed she was in remission last year (2018).
Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, Julia said her castmates helped her through her health struggles, and the focus playing conniving politician Selina Meyer gave her was invaluable.
“We (the cast) linked arms and we tried to do the most joyful funny thing possible as a team,” she shared. “It was like being on a sports team… and that was the most buoying thing, to constantly be coming back to. It really helped me.
“It gave me something to laser focus on during my illness, and I needed to laser focus beyond my illness, so it was a life saver.”
The show’s final season, which focused on Selina running for president again after briefly becoming America’s leader in season three, has been nominated for nine Emmy Awards, including a nod for Julia for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. If she wins at the ceremony next month (September 2019) it will be her ninth Emmy – breaking a tie with Cloris Leachman for the record for most acting Primetime Emmy wins.
And speaking of Veep’s continued success, Julia insisted it is down to stringent quality control.
“I’ve been fiercely protective of the quality of the show for eight years, like fiercely, and so I did not want to screw this up from a creative point of view,” she explained of the final season. “The reaction has been very enthusiastic.
“We worked long and hard and went through many iterations of what was it going to be. Really, many. And so I think we landed in the right spot.”
