!['At first I thought i was going to die' says Money Heist Actor Alvaro Morte, find out why..](https://img-cdn.thepublive.com/fit-in/640x430/filters:format(webp)/popdiaries/media/post_banners/vZOgm3Z14XkRndKtlcB1.png)
Spanish actor Álvaro Morte, who plays the fan favourite role of Sergio Marquina aka The Professor in Money Heist, has a lot more to him than what we see in the Netflix show. Álvaro is indeed a fighter in real life too. He is a cancer survivor.
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Álvaro was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in his left leg in 2011, and for that he underwent treatment. The actor has spoken Candidly about his brush with the disease. In 2016, he told The Observer, “I remember the doctor with a white coat and the stethoscope to come to tell me without anesthesia. (He said) Look, this is happening to you and you have plenty of time to live.”
He also revealed that he took the tumor As something temporary. “For example, a flu, you feel bad, you have fever, shaking, but you know it will happen to you. You do not talk about it. Instead of accepting that I have a slim chance of survival, I tried to turn it on, which, in principle, the logic told me not to.”
In another interview with the Cocktail Magazine, Álvaro also said, “At first I thought I was going to die, that my leg was cut but nothing happened. Then I thought, if I die within three months, can I do it calmly? Have I respected the people around me who love me? Have I been faithful to my principles?”
Even though Álvaro fought the disease and came out stronger as a survivor, he said it did change his outlook towards life. “That made me enjoy the moment, since there is nothing that will remove the good humor,” he said.
Álvaro Morte is an engineer who turned into an actor and he made his debut in 2002. Though he became a leading actor in his home country Spain, he attained worldwide fame after playing the appellative role of The Professor in Money Heist. Even though he's an introvert off screen, he is the mastermind behind the robberies that happens at Royal Mint of Spain and Bank of Spain.
The upcoming season 5 of Netflix crime drama Money Heist will also mark its finale. Álvaro, along with several other cast members, will return to reprise their parts.