Monica Potter - Monica Potter Refused To Shave Her Head To Play Cancer Patient

Producers asked Potter to go bald for her character Kristina Braverman's breast cancer storyline, but she said no because she didn't want viewers to applaud her bravery while millions of women are fighting the disease in real life.

The 41-year-old star also admits she worried the dramatic look would scare her seven-year-old daughter Molly.

She tells Us Weekly, "They asked me to but I said no. My daughter would have been freaked out. I thought about it but my Molly said, 'Mommy, don't do that.' She said, 'You don't have to do that, just wear a bald cap.'

"My niece has cancer so I just thought I would do it, but it's a weird thing for me when actresses shave their heads for roles. I feel like if I'm not going through it, it's almost, for me, a gimmick, like, 'Look, she is so brave, she shaved her hair.' There are women who are going through that and I just didn't want to, you know."

Potter recently told the Los Angeles Times she wanted to tackle the emotional plot after her own real-life breast cancer scare last April (12).

Discussing her experience, she said, "You never think it can happen to you. With my friends who have gone through it, and they were in remission and came back - that to me was so poignant because this is happening and it's real. It's awful and just to hear their stories makes you work harder and push harder to do a better job and portray what they are going through without exploiting it. That's what I didn't want to do."

Potter was declared cancer-free after doctors ruled her growth was a cyst.