‘Better Call Saul’ Star Bob Odenkirk Admits To Suffering A Heart Attack After Ignoring The Advice Of His Doctor Because Of His Political Leanings: “Conservative Jack—s Was Right”
Josh Berger
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Bob Odenkirk, best known for his role as Saul Goodman in Breaking Bad and respective spin-off series Better Call Saul, recently admitted that he suffered a heart attack after ignoring the advice of his doctor because of his political leanings.
Bob Odenkirk as Saul Goodman in Better Call Saul Season 1 Episode 1 “Uno” (2015), AMC
In a recent appearance on Tig Notaro’s Don’t Ask Tig podcast, the actor weighed in on one of the listeners’ questions that asked whether she should trust a doctor whose political views differ from her own, asserting, “You’ve got to be careful.”
“This is not unlike… you trust the art or the artist,” Odenkirk posited, adding, “You know, in this case he’s a doctor. He may be very good at being a doctor, and then as a person he’s a crank but that doesn’t mean he’s not a great doctor.”
He went on, “I don think we have to separate those things,” before he recalled a particular anecdote that led to the Better Call Saul star suffering a heart attack.
Bob Odenkirk as Raymond “Ray” Wentworth in Girlfriend’s Day (2017), Magic Stone Productions
“I’m going to tell you something, very personal and true,” Odenkirk prefaced. “My doctor was a conservative; he got crankier and crankier the older he got. When I was 50 I went in — he was a heart doctor [at] Cedars Sinai and he had signs up all around his office at this point — ‘We do not accept Obamacare’ — and I f—king hated this side of him that I only learnt over time.”
Odenkirk continued, “So I had been with him for 20 years and he said, ‘You need to start taking statins right now.’ And I said, “Well, I don’t know, I don’t have heart disease in my family,” and he goes, ‘Just take them,’ and I didn’t listen to him.”
Bob Odenkirk as Hutch Mansell in Nobody (2021), Universal Pictures
“And I went to another doctor, and had more thorough research done on my heart, and that other doctor said, ‘You don’t need medicine yet,’ and I had a heart attack,” the Nobody star admitted, adding, “And the other doctor was right. The cranky conservative jack—s was right because he was a goddamn good doctor.”
The Breaking Bad actor elaborated, “His political point of view didn’t have anything to do with his ability to judge your health and your health choices and needs. And I’ve always felt that way about art too. If somebody makes a great movie and then they have a really horrible personal behavioural choice that we all learn about, the movie can still be a great movie.”
Bob Odenkirk as Saul Goodman in Better Call Saul Season 1 Episode 1 “Uno” (2015), AMC
In July of 2021, Odenkirk was hospitalised after suddenly collapsing on the set of Better Call Saul. “We can confirm Bob is in stable condition after experiencing a heart related incident,” read a statement issued by the actor’s representatives at the time.
“He and his family would like to express gratitude for the incredible doctors and nurses looking after him, as well as his cast, crew and producers who have stayed by his side. The Odenkirks would also like to thank everyone for the outpouring of well wishes and ask for their privacy at this time as Bob works on his recovery,” the statement concluded.
Bob Odenkirk as Hutch Mansell in Nobody (2021), Universal Pictures
Interestingly, the actor had previously made allusion to this particular story over a year after he collapsed on the set of Better Call Saul.
In an interview with The Guardian, Odenkirk mentioned that his doctor, without revealing what his political affiliation was, told him in 2018 to start taking medication to prevent coronary heart disease. The actor, instead, opted to follow the other doctor’s advice because he believed had done more thorough research.
“I’ve got nothing against medicine, I’m fully vaccinated,” Odenkirk told the outlet, adding, “He’d done a more thorough job of testing.”
Bob Odenkirk as Saul Goodman in Better Call Saul Season 1 Episode 1 “Uno” (2015), AMC
What do you make of Odenkirk’s comments?
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