According to castmate Sally Phillips, the 'Jerry Maguire' actress didn't tell anyone on the set about her illness when they were working on the movie 'Off the Rails'.
- Aug 1, 2021
AceShowbiz - Kelly Preston didn't tell anyone on her final film she had cancer.
The actress died of breast cancer last summer (20) aged 57 but, according to her "Off the Rails" co-stars, they had no idea there was anything wrong during filming.
Sally Phillips said, "When we made the film in 2019, Kelly had stage three breast cancer."
"We had no idea she was ill. No one knew, except Bill Kenwright, our executive producer. Kelly kept it quiet."
"I think this is standard practice in the US, due to insurance issues, plus TV and filmmakers over there seem to think you won't be capable of doing the job if you have cancer."
Sally recalled Kelly being a positive force on set, telling Yours magazine, "Kelly was more than capable. She had so much energy on set and was a bit like a mum to us. She kept our spirits up and was always laughing and joking."
The cast and crew found out about the actress' illness during post-production work on the film and at that point, Kelly was "too ill" to do anything else.
Sally said, "It was a massive shock. By then Kelly was too ill to do anything. It was pre-Covid and I desperately wanted to see her but when someone is that ill, they need to be with their family."
"We did have some really interesting chats away from set. My eldest son, Ollie, has Down's syndrome, while Kelly and John (Travolta)'s son Jett, who died in 2009 aged 16 from a seizure, was on the autistic spectrum and had learning difficulties. Jett was still very present for her."
