Christina Applegate 'pretty convinced' 'Dead to Me' will be last big role

Christina Applegate isn’t retiring, but she is opening up about the future of her onscreen career in the wake of her multiple sclerosis diagnosis.

And after decades of taking on big roles, she now believes her current part in the dark comedy “Dead to Me” could be her last. 

“I’m pretty convinced that this was it, you know?” the 50-year-old told Variety.

Applegate learned of her diagnosis with the central nervous system disease in 2021, while filming the third and final season of the Netflix hit, which is set to premiere on Nov. 17. 

“I got diagnosed while we were working,” she said. “I had to call everybody and be like, ‘I have multiple sclerosis guys. Like, what the f—!’ And then it was about kind of learning — all of us learning — what I was going to be capable of doing.”

While, after a five-month pause in production, she discovered she was capable of completing her work on the series, she now fears she may not be capable of taking on that kind of work again.

However, she plans to continue working in the entertainment industry, even if that means doing so in a different capacity. 

“I’ve got a lot of ideas in my mind,” Applegate said of working as a producer on future projects. “I just need to get them executed.”

And she may find a way revisit to one of her oldest roles, in voice alone, if not on camera. An animated version of “Married... With Children” is in development which could see her reprise the role of Kelly Bundy.

“We’re hoping that that works!” she added.

The truth is, at this point, Applegate isn't sure what the future will hold, onscreen or off, as she navigates the "strange journey" that is MS. 

And she's not really ruling anything out.  

“I’m just a newbie to all of this,” she explained. “I’m trying to figure it out — and I’m also in mourning for the person that I was. I have to find a place that’s as loving as my set was, where they won’t think I’m a diva by saying, ‘Hey, I can only work five hours.’”

This article was originally published on TODAY.com