Bob Odenkirk has recalled how he stopped breathing when he suffered a heart attack on the set of Better Call Saul.
The Breaking Bad actor collapsed last year whilst filming the sixth and final season, in which he stars as con artist-turned-lawyer Jimmy McGill, who eventually takes on the pseudonym Saul Goodman.
“I went down on one knee, and then I went all the way down. I guess I said, ‘I don’t feel very good”, he told Radio Times with a rueful laugh.
Odenkirk now knows that his co-stars Rhea Seehorn [who plays Kim Wexler] and Patrick Fabian [Howard Hamlin] grabbed his head and hand and “started yelling at me to stay on Earth”.
“I wasn’t breathing,” he continued. “I mean, if nobody had been there, if they didn’t do that CPR, I’d have been dead in a few minutes.”
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Odenkirk previously informed fans that he had suffered a small heart attack in a post on Twitter after the incident last summer, writing the message: “I had a small heart attack. But I’m going to be ok thanks to Rosa Estrada and the doctors who knew how to fix the blockage without surgery.
“Also, AMC and Sony’s support and help throughout this has been next-level. I’m going to take a beat to recover but I’ll be back soon.”
Meanwhile, the final series of Better Call Saul has been split into two parts, with the last six episodes recently launching on Netflix. They feature the anticipated return of Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul reprising their roles as Walter White and Jesse Pinkman.
Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com, Cranston explained the incredibly secretive process he and Paul had to go through when they were filming their scenes.
“It was [surreal],” he said. “Aaron Paul and I, we had to coordinate our schedules to make sure we were available when they were in production. So a year ago, April, is when we shot it. And because it was a separate section of us shooting the scene, I don’t know what actual episode it’s in. Because it wasn’t done in order.”
He added: “We were flown into New Mexico secretly and they created this shroud of privacy – we were sent right away to an Airbnb house that we were not allowed to leave. There was all this stuff going on, it was exciting! But also a secret and we kept it secret for a year.
“And then when Better Call Saul premiered they announced it, and Aaron and I said ‘Oh, well, I guess we can talk about it now!’”
AMC is hoping that the Breaking Bad universe will continue to expand as Better Call Saul comes to an end.
Dan McDermott, president of entertainment and AMC Studios at AMC Networks, has confirmed that the network’s door “is always open” for another spin-off, and that it’s just a matter of getting series creators Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould on board.
Read the full interview with Bob Odenkirk in this week’s Radio Times – out Tuesday 9th August.
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Better Call Saul is available on Netflix in the UK and AMC in the US. Check out the best Netflix series and best Netflix movies to keep you entertained, or visit our TV guide for more to watch.
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