During a recent interview with The Times of London, Bob Odenkirk recalled his 2021 heart attack on the set of the hit drama series “Better Call Saul.”
“I went down and Rhea [Seehorn] and Patrick [Fabian] grabbed me and they were screaming, but [the crew members who noticed] thought they were laughing,” Odenkirk said. “So there were delays in reacting because we were all so far apart from each other. I was gone. I turned gray. Eventually the on-set medic showed up and he didn’t know what to do. He’d never done CPR.”
“A lot of people get that wonderful reel of film of their life, or they have a person who says, ‘Do you want to go back?’” he added. “None of that for me. The first memory I have is leaving the hospital a week after I got there.”
Despite the scare, Odenkirk said he was able to better appreciate his life after the fact. He described his recovery period as “such a gift,” adding, “I felt just very, very delighted and engaged.”
In July of 2021, Odenkirk, who was 58 at the time, collapsed while filming a Season 6 episode of “Better Call Saul.” The Times of London reports that the heart attack was caused by “a build-up of plaque that blocked an artery.” Since then, Odenkirk “has cut back on sugar and takes statins, aspirin and metoprolol, a beta-blocker that reduces blood pressure.”
Days after his heart attack, Odenkirk took to social media to thank his fans for their overwhelming support.
He wrote on X, then called Twitter, “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.”
