Back in July 2021, while filming his final season of Better Call Saul in Albuquerque, NM, Bob Odenkirk suddenly collapsed. The beloved TV star was in the midst of a cardiac arrest. But crew members, believing he was playing a prank, stood by and laughed.
That day, fans almost lost the morally ambiguous attorney Saul Goodman, whom Bob played in both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul.
Fortunately, co-stars Rhea Seehorn and Patrick Fabian recognized he was in trouble and rushed to help him.
The response to the actor’s health issue was delayed
“I went down, and Rhea and Patrick grabbed me,” Bob told Radar Online. “They were screaming, but [the crew members who noticed] thought they were laughing.”
“I was gone,” he added. “I turned grey. Once an ambulance arrived to take him to the hospital, Bob was treated without surgery. However, he has very little memory of the experience. His life didn’t pass before his eyes. No one asked him if he “wanted to go back.”
“The first memory I have is leaving the hospital a week after I got there,” he shared. But the near-death experience changed the way he looks at life.
“That was such a gift,” he admitted. “I felt just very, very delighted and engaged.”
Following the scary incident, Bob addressed his fans on what was then Twitter (now X). “”Hi. It’s Bob,” he wrote. “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.”
After thanking his doctors and care team, he added, “I’m going to take a beat to recover but I’ll be back soon.”
During a 2022 TV appearance, Bob continued, “[It was ] traumatizing for all my co-stars, crew members and people I love very much … People who love me and went to the hospital with me.”
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