Al Pacino has revealed that he nearly died from coronavirus in 2020, saying he had “no pulse” for several minutes.
In an interview with The New York Times and People magazine published over the weekend, the 84-year-old Godfather and Scarface actor detailed his experience with the virus, which he contracted in 2020 before a vaccine was available.
“They told me I had no pulse. It was like – you're here, you're not. I thought, 'Wow, you don't even have a memory.' There is nothing. Unusual porridge Pacino told the New York Times:.
The actor said he was “not feeling well and unusually well,” recalling that he had a fever and dehydration before losing consciousness. “I was sitting inside the house and it was gone, like that. There was no pulse,” he said.
An ambulance arrived and I woke up in front of a medical team including six paramedics and two doctors in my living room. “They were dressed like they were from outer space or something,” he said. “It was kind of shocking to open my eyes and see it. Everyone was around me saying, 'He's back.' he's here ”
When you tell people, Pacino questioned whether he was really dead, even though nurses confirmed he had no pulse. “I thought I had experienced death. I might not have died…I don't think I died. Everyone thought I was dead. How could I have died?” Will it go away? If I had died, I would have passed out.”
The Oscar winner told the New York Times that he “couldn't see any white light or anything” and that there was “nothing” after death, but the experience prompted existential reflection.
“As Hamlet says, “To be or not to be.'' “An undiscovered country from which neither born nor traveler returns.'' And he says two words: “No more.” That was no more. You're gone. I never thought about that in my life,” Pacino said. “But you know actors, it sounds good when I say I'm dead once. What happens when I'm gone?”
When asked by People magazine whether his experience with death had changed the way he lived his life, he replied, “Absolutely.”
Pacino details the experience in his upcoming memoir, Sonny Boy. His latest film, Modì, Three Days on the Wing of Madness, premiered last week at the 72nd San Sebastian Film Festival.
