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Bob Odenkirk has detailed the severity of the heart attack he suffered while on the set of his hit show, Better Call Saul.
On July 27, the actor, 59, collapsed and suffered a near-fatal heart attack while shooting scenes for the sixth and final season of the Breaking Bad prequel series in New Mexico.
In a new interview with The New York Times, the screen star has opened up about the events surrounding his harrowing medical episode, revealing that it took three shocks from an automated defibrillator to revive his pulse.
"We were shooting a scene, we'd been shooting all day, and luckily I didn't go back to my trailer," he said. Instead, revealed the Illinois-born star, he went to a space where he enjoyed sitting with his co-stars, Rhea Seehorn and Patrick Fabian.
"I went to play the Cubs game and ride my workout bike, and I just went down," he recounted. "Rhea said I started turning bluish-gray right away."
Odenkirk admitted that he had known for quite some time that he had heart issues, but differing advice ultimately got in the way of him taking action.
"I'd known since 2018 that I had this plaque buildup in my heart," he said. "I went to two heart doctors at Cedars-Sinai [in Los Angeles], and I had dye and an MRI and all that stuff, and the doctors disagreed [on treatment]."
He said that one doctor suggested that he immediately start taking medication, while another said to him that he would wait. He took the advice of the second doctor and felt himself to be in good health, until "one of those pieces of plaque broke up."
Odenkirk recalled how the show's health and safety supervisor and an assistant director made their way to him from across the expansive soundstage, to administer CPR and hook him up to an automated defibrillator.
After the second time he was zapped, an irregular pulse was detected that soon disappeared. "The third time, it got me that rhythm back," the actor said.
An ambulance took him to Albuquerque's Presbyterian Hospital, "and around 5 a.m. the next morning they went through [veins in his wrist] and blew up the little balloons and knocked out that plaque and left stents in two places."
Odenkirk's wife and children arrived in Albuquerque later that morning, staying with the actor as he recovered from his heart attack over the next week.
The actor admitted in his interview that he has no recollection of the health scare, having gleaned details of the incident from Seehorn and others who stepped in to help save his life.
"That's its own weirdness," Seehorn told The New York Times. "You didn't have a near-death experience—you're told you had one."
After he was rushed to a local hospital, the actor's representative said in a statement that he was "in stable condition after experiencing a heart-related incident."
The statement continued: "He and his family would like to express gratitude for the incredible doctors and nurses looking after him, as well as his cast, crew and producers who have stayed by his side.
"The Odenkirks would also like to thank everyone for the outpouring of well wishes and ask for their privacy at this time as Bob works on his recovery."
Taking to Twitter shortly after the incident, Odenkirk wrote on July 30: "Hi. It's Bob. Thank you. To my family and friends who have surrounded me this week.
"And for the outpouring of love from everyone who expressed concern and care for me. It's overwhelming. But I feel the love and it means so much.
"I had a small heart attack. But I'm going to be ok thanks to Rosa Estrada and the doctors who knew how to fix the blockage without surgery."
He added: "Also, AMC and Sony's support and help throughout this has been next-level. I'm going to take a beat to recover but I'll be back soon."
In early September, the actor shared a photo of himself returning to the set of Better Call Saul, in which he plays the lawyer Saul Goodman, né Jimmy McGill.
"Back to work on Better Call Saul!" Odenkirk captioned the photo on Twitter. "So happy to be here and living this specific life surrounded by such good people."
The sixth and final season of AMC's Better Call Saul is set to premiere mid-2022.
About the writer
Ryan Smith is a Newsweek Senior Pop Culture and Entertainment Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on ... Read more