“Better Call Saul” and “Breaking Bad” actor Bob Odenkirk acknowledged that he ignored the advice of a “cranky conservative” doctor and later had a heart attack.
The 60-year-old discussed what happened during a recent episode of the podcast “Don’t Ask Tig.”
“When I was 50, I went in, he was a heart doctor, Cedar-Sinai, and he had signs up all around his office at this point [saying] ‘We do not accept Obamacare,’ and I hated this side of him that I only learned over time,” Odenkirk said.
The actor went on to say how the doctor, who he’d been seeing for 20 years, recommended taking statins to help lower his cholesterol. “And I said, ‘Well, I don’t know. I don’t have heart disease in my family.’ He goes, ‘Just take ’em,”‘ he went on.
The “Nobody” star said he ended up getting a second opinion, and that doctor said he did not need medication.
Odenkirk endured a near-fatal heart attack in 2021 while filming the award-winning series “Better Call Saul.” Per NPR, the actor’s heart stopped beating for 18 minutes.
The “Breaking Bad” alum said he should have listened to the first doctor despite disagreeing with his conservative political leanings.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP
“And I had a heart attack. And I think the first doctor was right,” Odenkirk said. “The cranky conservative jackass was right, because he was a good doctor. His political point of view doesn’t have anything to do with his ability to judge your health and your health choices and needs.”
The actor said he returned to work after five weeks of recovery and felt more energized than ever.
“I came out of it with a strangely fresh energy towards my whole life, like I was born again,” he explained, per NPR. “Like, ‘Hey, everybody!.. Let’s go back to work and make stuff!'”
During a 2017 interview with the Daily Beast, Odenkirk described himself as “obviously more of a liberal than I am a conservative” but also said, “you might be surprised at some of the positions I hold.”