Anjelica Huston has revealed she was diagnosed with cancer six years ago, saying she is now “in the clear”.

The 73-year-old actor declined to tell People magazine what kind of cancer she had, saying she wanted to keep that private, but did reveal she was diagnosed after the release of her 2019 film John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum.

“That was a very serious moment for me,” she said. “I managed to survive it, and I’m proud of myself.

“It’s not something that came lightly. It came as a big shock, but it made me conscious of what I shouldn’t do, of places I shouldn’t go. One of those places was taking life too seriously. So now when the opportunity arises, I laugh, and I try not to make a big deal out of things.”

The actor continues to get regular scans, but said she has been “in the clear” for four years.

“I’m at the four-year mark, and that means so much to me,” she said. “It’s a fantastic thing. I’m very proud of myself, and I’ve been very lucky. My doctors have been wonderful.”

The actor said she had decided to talk about it because it could help others.

“Sometimes you feel like you don’t want to talk about it for the obvious reasons, but there’s a lot to be said for talking about it and getting it out there and celebrating the fact that one’s come through,” she said.

“Life is tenuous and wonderful. It also gives you the idea that the world is big and you can somehow match up to it. That you’re ready for whatever happens.”

In the last few years, Huston has mainly performed in voice roles, including Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch and animation Star Wars: The Bad Batch. Her most recent onscreen role is as the lead in a BBC Agatha Christie series, Towards Zero.

Asked if she had ever considered retiring, Huston said “no”.

“I can’t imagine such a thing,” she said. “I think it would be too much, even for me.”