Bob Odenkirk Says He 'Turned Gray' and 'Was Gone' During Heart Attack on “Better Call Saul” Set

The actor said his costars were 'screaming' after he collapsed during a scene

NEED TO KNOW

• Bob Odenkirk suffered a near-fatal heart attack on the set of Better Call Saul in 2021
• He credits the experience with changing his outlook on life and considers it a blessing
• Odenkirk has adjusted his lifestyle with a healthier diet, daily medications, and regular stunt training sessions

Better Call Saul star Bob Odenkirk doesn't remember much from the near-fatal heart attack he suffered on the set of the AMC hit in 2021, but says he knows "I was gone."

Odenkirk, 63, told The Times U.K. that he collapsed while filming the sixth and final season of the Breaking Bad prequel, and costars Rhea Seehorn and Patrick Fabian "grabbed me and they were screaming."

However, because of pandemic restrictions, "there were delays in reacting because we were all so far apart from each other," the actor said. "I was gone. I turned grey. Eventually the on-set medic showed up and he didn't know what to do. He'd never done CPR.”

Seven days later, he woke up in the hospital, having lost a week of his life. "The first memory I have is leaving the hospital a week after I got there,” Odenkirk said. 

After waking up from a medically induced coma, Odenkirk learned he had suffered a widowmaker heart attack, which occurs when the largest artery, the left anterior descending artery, is blocked, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

The medical crisis, he said, changed how he viewed the world — and told the outlet that he now considers it a blessing.

“That was such a gift, to experience a few weeks where I felt that way about my presence in the world. I felt just very, very delighted and engaged,” Odenkirk said.

Since the heart attack, he said he's adjusted his diet by cutting back on sugar, as well as taking a daily aspirin, a statin (which lowers "bad" cholesterol) and the beta-blocker metoprolol (which reduces blood pressure).

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The Nobody 2 actor recently told PEOPLE that he's staying physically active — make that very active — by "going to the gym for stunt fighting. I go twice a week with my same trainer, Daniel Bernhardt."

He shared that while he considered easing up on the physical roles, he decided to keep up with the action-heavy characters. "Once I stop, I think it might be a little intimidating to get back," Odenkirk said. "But if I keep up the basics, then it's not so scary to just amp it up in time for a movie."

Odenkirk recently filmed the documentary Bob and David Climb Machu Picchu, alongside longtime collaborator David Cross. The movie will screen during the Tribeca Film Festival in June.

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