Larry Hagman, star of the long-running American soap opera Dallas, has reportedly been diagnosed with cancer. However, it is also believed that the 80-year-old actor will brave the illness and continue to shoot for the series.

As J.R., I could get away with anything -- bribery, blackmail and adultery, said Hagman, in a statement to America's TV Guide, But I got caught by cancer.

Hagman, who is best known for playing J.R. Ewing, a character on Dallas, didn't comment on the kind of cancer he had. However, he did add that it was a very common and treatable form.

A reboot of Dallas, which was a hugely popular show in the 1980s, is being created by TNT and is scheduled to premiere in the summer of 2012. As reported earlier, though, cancer will not prevent Hagman from being a part of it.

I will be receiving treatment while working on the new Dallas series, said the actor, I could not think of a better place to be than working on a show I love, with people I love. Besides, as we all know, you can't keep J.R. down! Hagman added, according to the report.

The reboot will also star Patrick Duffy, Charlene Tilton and Linda Gray, according to a report in the Guardian.

In addition to the old guard, actors Jordana Brewster, Julie Gonzalo, Josh Henderson, Brenda Strong and Jesse Metcalfe will all reportedly be a part of the new Dallas.

Hagman, who has admitted to being a heavy drinker, has had serious health issues in the past - he had to undergo a life-saving liver transplant operation in 1995. Nevertheless, he remains the only actor to appear in all 357 episodes of Dallas - the series that started in 1978 and continued for 13 seasons, before winding up in 1991.

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