Bob Odenkirk felt “strangely upbeat” after suffering a near-fatal heart attack at work, admitting he was clueless to the enormity of his health scare.
The Better Call Saul actor collapsed on the set of the popular prequel to Breaking Bad in July last year while filming the show’s final episodes in Albuquerque in New Mexico.
He was rushed to hospital after two of his co-stars, Rhea Seehorn and Patrick Fabian, alerted medics to the scene by screaming for help.
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It was later revealed Odenkirk’s “widow-maker” artery, or left anterior descending artery, was completely blocked.
“I had a strangely upbeat energy in the time after the heart attack,” the 60-year-old told the Independent.
“I was chipper, and clueless about the enormity of what had happened to me, and what other people had felt being around it.”
He likened the experience to “my brain was completely hiding this time from me.”
“It was trying to make it disappear – and it did,” he said.
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He shared that he had a smile on his face that said ‘what are doing next’ to which people around him “looked at me funny”, as though needing to remind him of his health scare.
He told the media outlet he is still “unpacking” the experience.
Last year, to mark the first anniversary of his heart attack, Odenkirk revealed Seehorn and Fabian were left traumatised by the health incident.
He also detailed more about what occurred after his sudden collapse, with the show’s health officer Rosa Estrada leading the charge.
“They came out and did CPR properly right away, broke my ribs like you’re supposed to and carried on until the ambulance arrived,” Odenkirk said.
“And also, Rosa had an AED device, which is a defibrillator, in her car. So because she had that, she was able to go get it and it took only three tries.”
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Odenkirk was hospitalised for a week, confirming on social media on August 7 that he had “a small heart attack” but reassured fans he was feeling better.
“I don’t remember the day it happened or the next week and a half,” he said.
“They all were standing right there. And they watched me go down, and they watched them use the defibrillator three times on me, and they watched the professionals around look at each other and say he’s not coming back.”
Odenkirk now stars in new series Lucky Hank, an adaptation of Richard Russo’s 1997 novel Straight Man.
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