Al Pacino Reflects on a Life-Altering Covid-19 Experience and Contemplates the Afterlife

Al Pacino, the iconic Oscar-winning actor, recently opened up about a near-fatal encounter with Covid-19 in 2020, sharing his thoughts on mortality and the afterlife. In interviews with The New York Times and People magazine, Pacino detailed his harrowing experience of battling the virus, during which he briefly lost his pulse.

At 84 years old, Pacino recounted feeling “unusually not good” before developing a fever and dehydration. He vividly described the moment he realized he was in grave danger: “I was sitting there in my house, and I was gone,” he said. “I didn’t have a pulse.” Reflecting on this surreal state, he noted, “You’re here, you’re not. I thought: Wow, you don’t even have your memories. You have nothing. Strange porridge,” likening his near-death experience to a disorienting dream.

Fortunately, help arrived swiftly. An ambulance reached Pacino’s home just minutes after his pulse disappeared, and he regained consciousness to find six paramedics and two doctors surrounding him. “They had these outfits on that looked like they were from outer space or something,” he recalled, noting how shocking it was to see the medical team in full protective gear. “It was kind of shocking to open your eyes and see that. Everybody was around me, and they said: ‘He’s back. He’s here.’”

In his interview with People, Pacino shared his initial confusion upon waking. “I looked around and I thought, ‘What happened to me?’” he expressed, highlighting the disorientation that often accompanies such profound experiences. Although many believed he had died, Pacino was left questioning the nature of his experience. “I thought I experienced death. I might not have. I don’t think I have, really. I know I made it,” he reflected.

He credited his “great assistant” for recognizing the severity of the situation and contacting emergency services when the nurse confirmed his lack of a pulse. “He got the people coming, because the nurse that was taking care of me said, ‘I don’t feel a pulse on this guy,’” Pacino explained, emphasizing the critical role of timely intervention.

When asked if this health scare changed his outlook on life, Pacino responded candidly: “Not at all.” Despite this, he acknowledged that the experience had a profound metaphysical effect on him. Currently preparing for a movie adaptation of Shakespeare’s King Lear, Pacino discussed how the brush with death prompted him to reflect deeply on existence.

“I didn’t see the white light or anything. There’s nothing there,” he stated. Drawing from Hamlet’s soliloquy, he quoted, “To be or not to be; ‘The undiscovered country from whose bourn no traveler returns.’ And he says two words: ‘no more.’ It was no more,” capturing the essence of his contemplation on life and death.

Pacino’s reflections suggest a complex relationship with the concept of mortality. “You’re gone. I’d never thought about it in my life. But you know actors: It sounds good to say I died once. What is it when there’s no more?” he pondered, revealing his philosophical musings on the end of existence.

His harrowing experience is also chronicled in his upcoming autobiography, Sonny Boy, set to be published on Tuesday. Through this narrative, Pacino aims to shed light on not only his personal journey but also the universal questions surrounding life, death, and what may lie beyond. As he navigates the realities of aging and the uncertainties of life, Pacino’s insights resonate with anyone who has faced their own mortality or questioned the mysteries of the afterlife.