Actor Stephen Campbell Moore is married to actor Claire Foy from The Crown. He looks a little like a mix of Toby Stephens and Damian Lewis, doesn’t he? He’s probably best know for playing Irwin in The History Boys on stage but he has many film and TV credits as well. He also had a real health scare two years ago when doctors found a tumor on his pituitary gland. The good news is the tumor was benign and the surgery to remove it was successful. Of course this ordeal shook his whole family. Although he was nervous about his diagnosis and operation, he recognized that it was likely worse on those who loved him, especially Claire who had just given birth to their daughter one year earlier.
Claire Foy’s husband, Stephen Campbell Moore, has opened up about his private health battle. As Foy’s hit The Crown aired on Netflix and she became a household name, at home, her family was quietly dealing with a major crisis.
Campbell Moore, 38, revealed in an interview with The Sun on Sunday that at the end of 2016, doctors found a tumor on his pituitary gland, which is located at the base of his brain. Fortunately, the tumor was benign but still required surgery, which he underwent in the summer of 2017. Campbell More, who welcomed his first daughter with Foy in February 2015, said he prepared by writing letters to those he loved.
“You realize you’re not the most important person in that process, and everybody who loves you goes through far worse,” he said. “My daughter didn’t know what was going on at all. But my family did, and I could see it in them.”
“But it’s all very much on the off chance that something did go wrong because every part of you is saying that nothing will,” Moore said. He added, “Waking up and being told the operation had gone well was understandably a huge relief.”
I think anyone who has gone through a health scare understands this. No matter how one reacts to unfortunate news most of us recognize we need to prepare for the worst-case scenario. And you know those who love you are doing the same but it’s harder for them because they will have to deal with life without you. I wrote those letters to loved ones during a health scare, even though I was absolutely convinced I would fully recovery. And I was not married nor did I have children at the time, can you imagine what poor Stephen was going through? He probably played out his daughter’s whole life without him.
As for Claire, apparently, she too had a tumor when she was 17, only hers was in her eye. Likewise, her tumor was benign, but she also had to have surgery to remove it. Even though she said the tumor was, “horrible and debilitating,” Claire said, “it made me realize that I needed to grab the life I wanted.” I don’t envy Stephen or Claire for going through what they did, but I am glad that they both know without a doubt what is important to them because of it.
Slightly off topic but my parents have finally started watching The Crown. My father has been calling me after they finish an episode to tell me how much he liked it and we discuss all the fact from fiction. It allows me to relive the show all over again.
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How sweet! I would love my dad to get into a great show that I enjoyed. But I don’t think he would enjoy sex in the city or the housewives which is what I’m watching a bit of lately. At least your dad can figure out Netflix, mine is 72 and he just learned how to text lol.
A close friend’s husband was diagnosed with a brain tumor last fall–it’s horrible for everyone.
On a happier note, I just started watching the Crown too–how do I learn what’s fact and fiction?
I was just wondering the same thing. I thought everything in the crown was fact!
Just search “The Crown fact check” or something similar. Beware: it’s a black hole! So many tracks to go down.
I didn’t realize they were married. I loved him in The Go-Between (and a few other period dramas I’ve seen).
I saw him Wallis & Edward.
First let me apologize for my tangent but here we go. My father was diagnosed with a brain tumor that was benign but it was growing and impacting parts of his brain which was causing some major issues. The first doctor we saw told us our options were to have brain surgery or to leave it to grow, both were terrible options. So we went for a second opinion and were given a third option, a non invasive directed radation. This option meant no down time, no months of recovery from a serious surgery and no relearning to talk. Second opinions are so worth it, never be afraid to seek out other options.
I had radiation treatment for an inoperable, benign brain tumor this past summer. In general, radiation comes with the risk of serious side effects over the very long term (10+ years), so I think surgery is preferred when it’s physically safe to do so. My treatment was 5 days a week for 6 weeks — incredibly disruptive and difficult. But good results, so fingers crossed. @Umyeah, I hope your father’s treatment has gone or will go well and my best wishes to him and your family. This stuff takes its toll on everyone.
He was a bit goofy looking when he was younger. Now he’s starting to look like a young Charles Dance.
Had no idea they were married. He was the lead in Bright Young Things, an interesting misfire based on Evelyn Waugh’s novel Vile Bodies about the shenanigans of upper crust (though not always wealthy) youth in the 1930s.
How dreadful, yet bonding, that they both had this awful experience. Thank goodness both had ultimately benign outcomes.
To me he also looks a bit like will arnet.