Al Pacino revealed he suffered a near-death experience in 2020 that left him without a pulse.
The legendary actor explained during an interview with The New York Times published Oct. 5.that he contracted Covid-19 and it nearly cost him his life. The star said this scary ordeal unfolded before the vaccine became available and terrified those around him that thought they had lost him for good.
“They said my pulse was gone,” Pacino told the publication. “It was so — you’re here, you’re not. I thought: Wow, you don’t even have your memories. You have nothing. Strange porridge.”
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – APRIL 19: Al Pacino attends a conversation with Al Pacino at The 92nd Street Y, New York on April 19, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Dominik Bindl/Getty Images)
The Oscar-winning star recalled that it all began when he started to feel “unusually not good.”
“So I got someone to get me a nurse to hydrate me. I was sitting there in my house, and I was gone. Like that. I didn’t have a pulse,” Pacino told The New York Times.
That was the last memory Pacino had before his health took a turn.
The star explained that his assistant Michael Quinn acted quickly to seek medical assistance.
WEST HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – DECEMBER 05: Al Pacino attends the 2019 GQ Men of the Year at The West Hollywood Edition on December 05, 2019 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic) Getty Images
“In a matter of minutes they were there — the ambulance in front of my house. I had about six paramedics in that living room, and there were two doctors, and they had these outfits on that looked like they were from outer space or something,” Pacino said, recounting his harrowing experience.
“It was kind of shocking to open your eyes and see that. Everybody was around me, and they said: ‘He’s back. He’s here,’” he said.
Pacino said his brush with death gave him a new perspective on the afterlife.
LOS ANGELES, CA – APRIL 10: Al Pacino is seen at Giorgio Baldi restaurant on April 10, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by The Hollywood Curtain/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images) Getty Images
“I didn’t see the white light or anything. There’s nothing there,” he said. “As Hamlet says, ‘To be or not to be’; ‘The undiscovered country from whose bourn, no traveler returns.’”
“No more. It was no more. You’re gone. I’d never thought about it in my life.” (RELATED: Jeff Bridges Describes What It Was Like To Return To Work After Near-Death Experience)
Pacino reflected on the magnitude of the experience, and stayed true to his roots by relating his dramatic medical scare to his career.
“But you know actors: It sounds good to say I died once. What is it when there’s no more?”
This article was originally published at dailycaller.com
