Craig Russell from ‘Cleopatra’ claims he had life threatening surgery for brain tumor

English actor Craig Russell from the new Netflix documentary Cleopatra revealed that he had to undergo complicated surgery for his brain tumour after filming for the show. His doctors warned him that he could have died before the surgery.

The star, who plays the role of Marc Antony in the documentary, opened up about the health scare. Although he felt healthy during the production of the show, towards the end of the year he began to suffer from migraines, hearing loss and worsening vision.

He explained to The Mirror: “Just before Christmas, I walked into the spare room and I couldn't ­remember how to get out. There was only one door, it wasn't as if I had multiple exits to choose from.”

When he went to get a CT scan, it was revealed that he had a brain tumour approximately the size of a lime and had been growing for around 15 years. He was told by his doctors that the tumour needed to be removed immediately and that he had begun to go blind in his left eye.

“I got a call to say: ‘We need to get this out ASAP’. It was totally unexpected. I was very teary when I told my wife, Kate – and that they didn't know if it was cancerous or not. But she was amazing, saying, ‘we will win this.'"