September 28, 2025
Hammond revealed his health struggles as he works on a reunion documentary for “Soul Food.”
Brandon Hammond, the child star known for his roles in “Space Jam” and “Waiting To Exhale,” has a serious reason for why he left the spotlight after the ’90s.
Hammond revealed about how his health issues got in the way of his burgeoning acting career. Hammond had begun to make a name for himself in Hollywood with roles in top films, also including “Menace II Society” and “Mars Attacks!”
However, his career came to an abrupt halt upon hearing about his rare diagnosis. The 41-year-old told People about how he learned he had Castleman disease, an autoimmune disorder. He’s shedding a light on his struggles behind the camera as he prepares for his own comeback.
“I was diagnosed with this super, super rare, autoimmune condition called Castleman disease,” he said. “I had all these chest pains, and my eye was flushed out red, just all types of physiological things were happening to me that we could not explain.”
At the time of his health scare, Hammond was basking in the success of the 1997 classic film, “Soul Food.” Hammond played the film’s protagonist, 11-year-old Ahmad, in the family drama.
Now, he’s getting real about his internal struggles. Around the film’s initial release, Hammond kept experiencing intense, mysterious chest pains, leading him to discover the illness.
“And then I had a biopsy because they were seeing that my lymph nodes were swollen. And that’s when I got this diagnosis for this thing called Castleman’s disease. I had never heard of it before, but apparently, it’s super rare in children and it’s super rare in Black people. So when you talk about rare, I’m the rarest exception to that rule,” detailed the actor.
Just as Hammond began to make a name for himself in the entertainment industry, he had to take a step back while getting his health in order. However, he shied away from explaining what happened to curious and concerned fans.
A lot of people don’t know that because people have asked, ‘Hey, what happened? Why’d you stop acting?’ And I used to give these really kind of vague answers and responses because I wasn’t ready to talk about it,” he shared.
He said his agent also told him to keep quiet about the disease, alluding that it could jeopardize his career.
“I was kind of told not to talk about it,” added Hammond. “Of course, in hindsight, I regret that, right? But I was just following what I was told to do. My agents told me to keep it under wraps.”
While originally told to keep his health concerns in the dark, Hammond is ready to reappear in the spotlight. His documentary, “Sunday Dinner: The Soul Food Reunion,” is already in the works. He not only hopes to share his story, but also reminisce on the classic film that co-starred Vivica A. Fox, Nia Long, and Vanessa Williams.
“[I felt] ‘Soul Food’ deserves that type of recognition for what it means to the culture. It deserves to be given its flowers… This documentary, the feelings that you got while watching the film, and I’m talking about happy, joy, sad, angry, laughter, all of that, I want to encapsulate all that.”
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