Bob Odenkirk suffered a heart attack in 2021 while on the set of the “Breaking Bad” spin-off, “Better Call Saul.” Recently, he opened up about the experience, detailing his co-stars’ and crew members’ reactions and noting that he turned grey during the medical emergency.
Odenkirk interviewed with The Times of London in May 2026. In discussing his heart attack, the actor recalled that his costars, Reah Seehorn and Patrick Fabian, grabbed him and also screamed from the shock of seeing him begin to collapse amid filming.
However, he shared that the crew members on set “thought they were laughing,” noting, “So there were delays in reacting because we were all so far apart from each other.”
Bob Odenkirk Remembers He Turned Grey During the Heart Attack
GettyOdenkirk continued his conversation with The Times of London by revealing that he believed his life was coming to an end. According to the “Better Call Saul” alum, “I was gone. I turned gray.” After that, Odenkirk stated that the medic assigned to the set showed up, but “didn’t know what to do.”
Odenkirk stated that the person had no experience with CPR. He was then taken to a nearby hospital and did not require surgery.
He reflected on the experience, saying, “A lot of people get that wonderful reel of film of their life, or they have a person who says, ‘Do you want to go back?’ None of that for me. The first memory I have is leaving the hospital a week after I got there.”
Odenkirk went on to discuss how the heart attack changed his outlook on life. The “Breaking Bad” icon shared, “That was such a gift, to experience a few weeks where I felt that way about my presence in the world. I felt just very, very delighted and engaged.”
The ‘Breaking Bad’ Alum Previously Shared Details About the Experience
Odenkirk appeared on the “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend” podcast in August 2025. During the interview, he shared more details about the 2021 medical emergency. Most notably, he shared that it was a Widowmaker heart attack, which is when the left anterior descending artery becomes blocked.
Odenkirk recalled that the “Better Call Saul” set was still under pandemic-era filming restrictions. This meant the crew wasn’t as close to the cast as usual when he suffered the heart attack.
According to him, “And luckily, I didn’t go to my trailer. If I’d gone to my trailer, I wouldn’t be here, because they don’t bother you.”
After that, he recalled getting CPR from a different medical professional on set before being taken to the hospital. Regarding his memories, the actor said, “It was just a blank … I’m leaving the hospital a week later. That’s my first memory is talking to the doctor on my exit interview. So I was there for a week.”
He added, “I don’t have any memory of any of the hospital at all.” Odenkirk first addressed the heart attack in July 2021 on Twitter.
He used the post to thank friends and family for the love and support and to say, “It’s overwhelming. But I feel the love, and it means so much.”
