S Poddar
Al Pacino, an actor of old, known for such iconic roles as in “The Godfather” and “Scarface,” recalled during his time dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic a harrowing near-death experience
In an interview with The New York Times to promote his memoir, “Sonny Boy,” Pacino recounted the terrifying ordeal that went down in his home in 2020. The 84-year-old actor described how he suddenly lost consciousness and pulse and believed he crossed over to the other side.
“I was sitting there in my house, and I was gone. Like that. I didn’t have a pulse,” Pacino remembered. “I thought I experienced death.”
Unlike what often pops up on the cinema or in popular culture shows, Pacino did not see any mysterious “white light” or have any otherworldly experience. He said, “I didn’t see anything. There’s nothing there. I never thought about it in my life. But you know actors: it sounds good to say I died once.”
Paramedics arrived and went to his house, their gear something out of a science fiction film. Family and friends were sure that Pacino was dead, but the actor surprisingly survived.
Talking about his close brush with death, Pacino said work with decades behind it and children is what came in handy to comfort him. With age, the outlook towards death changes naturally. Talking about Shakespeare’s Hamlet, he said, ” ‘No more. To be, or not to be.’ ‘No more.’ And it’s no more. Well, it’s not. I don’t know, who knows?”
Indeed, this has been the latest work of Pacino that was premiered at the 72nd San Sebastián International Film Festival, testifying to his enduring talent and resilience even when faced with such an overwhelming life event.
