Inside Al Pacino's Life-Altering COVID Experience

Al Pacino is sharing insights from a near-death experience that profoundly shifted his outlook on life. In anticipation of his upcoming memoir, Sonny Boy, the 84-year-old Godfather actor discussed his serious illness after contracting COVID-19 in 2020.

In a recent interview with The New York Times, Pacino recounted feeling unusually unwell. “I felt not good — unusually not good. Then I had a fever, and I was getting dehydrated,” he explained. He arranged for a nurse to come and hydrate him, but soon found himself in a terrifying situation.

“I didn’t have a pulse,” he recalled. “In a matter of minutes, there were about six paramedics and two doctors in my living room, dressed in outfits that looked like they were from outer space. It was shocking to open my eyes and see that.” He remembered the paramedics declaring, “He's back. He's here.”

Reflecting on the experience, Pacino described it as surreal: “You're here, you're not. I thought: 'Wow, you don’t even have your memories. You have nothing. Strange porridge.'”

In another interview with PEOPLE, he explained that his "great assistant" Michael Quinn was the one who called for help when he noticed something was wrong. “I don’t think I died,” Pacino insisted. “Everybody thought I was dead. How could I be dead?”

When asked if this scare altered his way of living, Pacino stated, “Not at all.” However, he elaborated on his metaphysical reflection of the incident. “I didn't see the white light or anything. There's nothing there,” he said, quoting Hamlet about the mystery of death: “To be or not to be; the undiscovered country from whose bourn, no traveler returns.” He added, “It was no more. You're gone. I'd never thought about it in my life.”

Pacino, known for acclaimed films like Serpico, The Godfather trilogy, and Scarface, has received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award and two Emmys. When considering his legacy, he said, “Yes, and having children is a consolation.”

He acknowledged that perspectives on death tend to evolve with age. “It’s just the way it is. I didn’t ask for it. It just comes, like a lot of things,” he noted. Last year, Pacino welcomed his fourth child, Roman, with his 30-year-old girlfriend, producer Noor Alfallah. He also has a 34-year-old daughter with acting coach Jan Tarrant and 23-year-old twins Anton and Olivia with actress Beverly D’Angelo.