Antonio Banderas explains why heart attack is 'best thing that ever happened' to him
Antonio Banderas has explained why having a heart attack in 2017 was the 'best thing that ever happened' to him.
The now 65-year-old was at home in Surrey, England, when he began noticing chest pains. It's soon became apparent the Spanish actor was having a heart attack.
Speaking at a film festival in his home town of Malaga a matter of months after it happened, Banderas said: "I suffered a heart attack on January 26, but it wasn't serious and hasn't caused any damage."
On the day he had the heart attack, Banderas' girlfriend Nicole Kimpel gave him some aspirin, which Banderas credited with saving his life.
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"I started having the symptoms and I clearly knew what was going on, she put one of those aspirins inside of my tongue and that saved my life," Banderas recalled on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
Shortly after the aspirin was administered, an ambulance arrived and transported him to hospital.
There, Banderas underwent emergency surgery which saw healthcare experts insert three stents in his arteries.
The heart attack was a wake-up call for Banderas, as it lead to him making huge lifestyle changes such as quitting smoking and moving back to his home in Spain to be with family.
Because of that, the actor has seen having a heart attack as the 'best thing that ever happened' to him.
He explained to PEOPLE magazine in a recent interview: "You always have in your mind that you’re going to die. But then when you have it so close, it’s an unbelievably clear reminder of how stupid you are losing time over things that don’t deserve to be in your life.
"My heart attack was the best thing that ever happened in my life. It was like somebody put glasses on me so I could see the reality that I didn’t see before."
After being cleared of any ill health, Banderas is starring featuring in the biopic Tony, which tells the story of the late famed chef Anthony Bourdain.
Speaking of his upcoming project, Banderas added to PEOPLE: "I didn’t know Anthony Bourdain personally, but I thought that [Bourdain’s travelogue series No Reservations] was a beautiful show that was not actually about cooking, but life.
“And then my character [Ciro Cozzi, Bourdain’s], he was a good man. He was somebody who has something to say. And I have eight restaurants, so I am a little bit in that world, too. It’s almost impossible to say no to a project like this."
Elsewhere in the interview, Banderas heaped praise on his late father, who he described as 'compassionate' and his 'mentor'.
Speaking about how that has reflected on his children, the actor continued: "It’s a way of understanding life. With my kids, it’s just love.
"I see them blossoming and becoming good people, and I’m so proud of them."
Callum Jones