Bob Odenkirk Opens Up About 'Near-Death' Heart Attack On Set Of 'Better Call Saul'

Bob Odenkirk has opened up about his near death experience in July 2021, when he suddenly passed out while shooting a scene for “Better Call Saul” Season 6.

In an interview with The New York Times, the 59-year-old actor revealed he was aware that something was wrong with his heart but was given mixed advice on how to address the problem. On July 27, 2021, during the filming of the show, a plaque in his heart broke and caused a heart attack, Odenkirk said.

“We were shooting a scene, we’d been shooting all day, and luckily I didn’t go back to my trailer,” he told the outlet. He said he went to a space just off the set where he would always sit 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. Rhea said I started turning bluish-gray right away.”

Odenkirk said he had known he had a plaque buildup in his heart since 2018. However, the doctors he consulted disagreed on a treatment plan. “I went to two heart doctors at Cedars-Sinai, and I had dye and an M.R.I. and all that stuff, and the doctors disagreed,” he explained, adding that one of the doctors advised that he should start medication while the other said he could wait.

Odenkirk admitted that he was grateful for the cast and crew of the show for saving his life. Seehorn and Fabian alerted the people on set and their set health safety supervisor, Rosa Estrada, and an assistant director began administering CPR and hooked him up to an automated defibrillator.

The actor further revealed that after two failed attempts at reviving him, the third zap finally got his regular pulse back. The following morning, he underwent a procedure to knock out the remaining plaque in his heart. He spent a week recovering in the hospital after the procedure and is now fully recovered.

After the ordeal, Odenkirk said Seehorn told him, “You didn’t have a near-death experience. You’re told you had one.”