“The best event of my life”: Antonio Banderas told for the first time how he survived a heart attack 24.01.2023, 18:15

The Hollywood actor suffered a heart attack in 2017 while on holiday with his sweetheart Nicole Kempel in the Swiss Alps. He felt a sharp pain in his chest, after which he was transferred to a Swiss clinic. Six years later, Antonio dared to speak for the first time about how he reassessed his life after suffering the attack.

The leading man of “The Mask of Zorro” assured that the health problems he faced changed his life for the better. He believes that this was a turning point in his biography. “I had a heart attack six years ago. It was probably one of the best experiences of my life. It was like putting on glasses and seeing what was really important,” Banderas said in an interview with Radio Times magazine.

The filmmaker, who did not drink alcohol, reassessed his priorities – he also stopped smoking. “Smoking is one of the stupidest things I’ve ever done in my life. In the end, I was lucky because a heart attack could have killed me, “said the actor.

The producer assured that after the attack he completely reconsidered his career and changed his attitude towards it. “I returned to Spain and began to look at my professional life from a different angle. I am connected to this profession in a special way. I think this beautiful message was done in the right way,” he said.

The native of Málaga noted that since he suffered a heart attack, he began to look only for pleasure and positive aspects in the acting profession and stopped caring about anything else. “For me, life begins when someone says, ‘Engine!’—or when the curtain goes up,” said the film actor.

Earlier, the director thanked his girlfriend Nicole Kempel for saving his life despite the panic. She gave him the maximum strength aspirin she had bought last night for a headache. “When I had symptoms, Nicole put one of these aspirins under my tongue and it saved my life. So I got a second chance and since then some things have changed in my life,” admitted the Spaniard.

Banderas began to appear rarely at public events. His performances are mainly timed to coincide with the premieres of films in which he participated. Antonio remains one of the few Spanish actors who managed to conquer Hollywood.