Mark "Chopper" Read films last scenes of Pinball as he battles cancer

MARK "Chopper" Read took a final bow yesterday as he filmed his last scenes for Melbourne thriller Pinball.

Mark Chopper Read

MARK "Chopper" Read took a final bow yesterday as he filmed his last scenes for Melbourne thriller Pinball.

The former underworld figure, who plays himself in the gritty crime drama, declared "I don't want to drown in a river of blood'' as he told leading man John Jarratt he was dying.

Read was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer two weeks ago and is on a cocktail of painkillers.

He has been undergoing radiation therapy and surgery to extend his estimated four weeks of life, and said he was determined to go down fighting.

Chopper's not an actor, he's a very colourful character and a funny man.

"Who the f--- says I'm dying?'' Read said when asked about his condition.

But the seriousness of Chopper's health presented a challenge for Wolf Creek star Jarratt, who battled to keep the script on track.

Ad-libbing his lines and at times lucid, Read swung between being alert and falling asleep while recording at Abbotsford's Carringbush Hotel.

Producer Matt Holcomb even jibed: "Chopper, look alive mate.''

Jarratt, who will head to the States soon to work with Quentin Tarantino on Jamie Foxx movie Django Unchained, said it had been an honour to work alongside Read.

"It's his swan song,'' Jarratt said.

"Chopper's not an actor, he's a very colourful character and a funny man. I knew all my script and he ad-libbed all his.''