Al Pacino has opened up on his near-death experience with Covid-19 as he ‘didn’t have a pulse’ during a medical emergency.
The Hollywood legend, 84, said that in 2020 his heart stopped briefly after he became unwell during the pandemic.
In a new interview, the Scarface actor talked about the ‘absurd’ and ‘crazy’ concept of ageing, and that he didn’t really know what it meant.
‘I sometimes think, Why can’t I find some steroids that won’t kill me? I took some when I had bad Covid,’ he said.
Recalling the terrifying medical emergency, he told The New York Times: ‘They said my pulse was gone. It was so — you’re here, you’re not.
‘I thought: “Wow, you don’t even have your memories. You have nothing. Strange porridge.”‘
He said his temperature spiked and he developed a fever while becoming severely dehydrated as a result of the illness, forcing The Godfather actor to hire a nurse to help him.
‘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,’ he continued.
‘In a matter of minutes they were there – the ambulance in front of my house.’
Pacino said there were six paramedics and two doctors in his home, saying they looked like they were from ‘outer space.’
The experience forced the Hollywood icon to reflect, and he concluded that it could improve his work as an actor.
‘As Hamlet says, “To be or not to be”; “The undiscovered country from whose bourn, no traveller returns.” And he says two words: “No more.” It was no more. You’re gone,’ he chillingly said.
‘I’d never thought about it in my life. But you know actors: It sounds good to say I died once. What is it when there’s no more?’
His admission comes after the acting legend welcomed his fourth child, Roman, with girlfriend Noor Alfallah, 30, in November.
Soon after, Alfallah filed for joint legal custody of their child when he was three months old, with them eventually reaching an agreement which sees Pacino paying $30,000 (£24,000) in child support, an amount that could grow based on his annual earnings.
Despite the ruling, a representative for Pacino stated that the couple were still together.
‘Al and Noor have successfully worked together and have mutually reached agreements regarding their child, Roman,’ the representative told the New York Post newspaper’s Page Six column. ‘They are still together.’
Oscar winner Al is already dad to Julie, 34, with ex Jan Tarrant, and to twins Anton and Olivia, 23, with Beverly D’Angelo.