Steve McQueen, acclaimed filmmaker, says he is in better health after being diagnosed with prostate cancer two years ago.
The 12 Years a Slave director, 55, says he underwent surgery to remove a cancerous tumor and is now “fully recovered and fully functional.”
McQueen received the devastating news just before shooting his new war drama Blitz in 2022. He discovered that he developed a small tumor during one of his routine checkups.
McQueen delayed filming by two weeks for the procedure, keeping his diagnosis private from the cast and crew. “I was just doing stuff in bed on the computer — working, emailing, and whatever,” he says to Deadline, “but I kept it private at that stage.”
He returned to work shortly after, determined to continue filming the war drama starring Saoirse Ronan and others. “I really just wanted to get on with the job,” said McQueen. “And that’s kind of like who I am. I’m a ‘get on with it’ kind of person.”
The director, who recently launched a new campaign for Prostate Cancer Research, is now serving as an advocate for early cancer screening, emphasizing its importance, especially for Black men, citing alarming statistics to raise awareness.
“One in four Black men will get prostate cancer, and one in 12 Black men will die of prostate cancer,” he said. “So for me, it was about preempting it. The fact that I was preempting the situation for years was, again, my savior in that way. So, just preempt it and get it early.”