Bob Odenkirk recalls Better Call Saul heart attack
The 62-year-old actor has recalled how he was lucky that co-stars Ray Campbell and Patrick Fabian were nearby after he suffered a medical emergency during filming for the Breaking Bad spin-off in 2021 as he likely would have died had the incident happened in his trailer.
Bob told Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend: "It was during Covid shooting, so we were separate from the crew.
"And luckily, I didn't go to my trailer. If I'd gone to my trailer, I wouldn't be here, because they don't bother you (in the trailer)."
Odenkirk recalled how Campbell and Fabian's screams for help were initially mistaken as laughter at first due to the social distancing provisions in place on the set.
He said: "It took a few seconds to realise people were screaming."
Bob was grateful to the show's medical officer Rosa Estrada as she "immediately" began CPR after learning that no defibrillator would be available for 15 minutes.
The Nobody actor later had two stents put in his coronary arteries after suffering the widow-maker heart attack but has no memory of the time he spent in hospital.
He said: "It was just a blank... I'm leaving the hospital a week later. That's my first memory is talking to the doctor on my exit interview. So I was there for a week. I don't have any memory of the hospital at all."
Bob previously discussed how his heart attack had ended up giving him a massive boost as it provided him with the inspiration needed to take advantage of his second chance at life.
The Emmy-winning star said: "I came out of it with a strangely fresh energy towards my whole life, like I was born again. Like: 'Hey, everybody! ... Let's go back to work and make stuff!'"
He added: "I really want to stay in touch with what happened there because it really was a great reconnection to being alive. And so I'd love to ruminate on it every day and try to reconnect."
Bob previously credited his daughter Erin with helping during his recovery as she left him notes in the style of Christopher Nolan's movie Memento after he woke up every day struggling to remember previous events.
He told Entertainment Tonight: "You made a chart for me of what happened the last week.
"Every day I woke up and I didn't know what had happened to me or kind of almost what was happening, and Erin made a nice chart it was her version of the movie Memento, where I could look up and see: 'You had a heart attack, these people visited, then you came to, you had the surgery.'"
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
8 hours ago
- Perth Now
Alicia Silverstone is determined to preserve Clueless legacy in TV reboot
Alicia Silverstone doesn't want to ruin the legacy of Clueless with the upcoming TV reboot. The 48-year-old actress will reprise her role as Cher Horowitz in the small screen adaptation of the 1995 coming-of-age comedy movie and admits that it wasn't a project she could see herself starring in previously. Alicia told Entertainment Tonight: "Where we are is that it's in very early stages. I'm obviously excited. I never thought that that was something I would ever do because I wouldn't wanna mess up this thing that we all love so much. "So we will do our very best to honour the original movie that we love and also bring something new to it." She added: "That's the goal, and I believe we will execute that goal." Silverstone explained that her fashion-obsessed alter ego's style transformation will be evident in the series. She said: "I can't wait to step back into Cher's skin and her fancy designer shoes that will be gently used, of course - duh - because she's evolved. "This is 2025. She's not wearing the new stuff unless it's, you know, sustainable or vegan. We'll have to see how far we can go with that." Alicia found fame when she was teenager but admits that she found it difficult to cope with her celebrity status at a young age. The Babysitter star said: "I was so overwhelmed by being famous because I was such a young girl and it was never really my intention." Alicia thinks finding fame and success at such an early age means she "missed some emotional steps". However, she also acknowledges there were some positive aspects to her early success. The actress said: "I think I probably missed some emotional steps that needed to happen in a normal situation of development. "But I also jumped light years ahead in other ways. It's sort of a combo platter. You gain some and you lose some." Alicia also stressed that she never had any trouble getting her voice heard in the movie business. She said: "Unfortunately or fortunately, I do not know, I've never had that problem with my work. "I have had it in my personal life, learning to have a voice in my real life has been harder than having a voice in my work life. Maybe it's because I had success at a young age and sometimes maybe to my detriment, when I should have been wrangled."
West Australian
a day ago
- West Australian
Trial for Outback Wrangler Matt Wright hears explosive claims
A Netflix reality star 'idolised' by his staff was an 'anti-vaxxer' who broke Covid-19 laws and was allegedly secretly recorded talking about tinkering with flight records while visiting a chopper crash survivor left paraplegic in hospital, a jury has heard. The extraordinary claims about Outback Wrangler Matt Wright were made this week during his trial in the Northern Territory Supreme Court, where he is charged with three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice. The 45-year-old celebrity is accused of failing to accurately record flight times in the Robinson-R-44 that crashed in February 2022, killing his co-star Chris 'Willow' Wilson. It is not alleged Mr Wright is responsible for the crash. Mr Wilson, 34, was dangling from a sling attached to the helicopter during a dangerous crocodile egg collecting mission when the chopper crashed in Arnhem Land. CHOPPER RECORDS ALLEGEDLY FUDGED Pilot Seb Robinson, who survived the crash but is now a paraplegic, testified his former boss was an 'anti-vaxxer' despite Mr Wright going to two Covid restricted areas – the remote helicopter crash site and the injured pilot's Brisbane hospital room. He told the jury the main reason Mr Wright was not on the egg mission was 'because he was an anti-vaxxer'. At the time, there were strict Covid rules for anyone entering remote areas in the Territory, where they needed to provide proof of vaccination and take a rapid antigen test. The jury previously heard Mr Wright flew to the crash site with Wild Harvest NT director Mick Burns and off-duty senior NT Police officer Neil Mellon. Following the crash, Mr Robinson spent one month in hospital, where Covid restrictions meant two people could visit and everyone needed to provide a valid vaccination certificate. Mr Robinson said he had just come out of a coma, was heavily sedated and 'hallucinating' but 'vaguely' remembered a visit from Mr Wright and his wife Kaia on March 11. 'I have a vivid memory of him having some sort of paperwork in his hands,' Mr Robinson said. He alleged his boss wanted to move 'a few' hours from the crashed helicopter – with the call sign IDW – to Mr Robinson's personal chopper, with the call sign ZXZ. Mr Robinson, 28, also alleged Mr Wright 'asked to go through my phone and delete a few things'. 'I remember looking over and seeing him holding my phone and flicking through it and deleting things,' Mr Robinson said. The jury heard the former pilot also deleted 'some stuff', including phone notes for start and stop times for IDW during egg collection trips. 'It was a very hard time for me. I didn't know who to trust and I panicked and went along with it,' he said. Mr Robinson alleged on Mr Wright's second hospital visit he brought Jai Thomlinson to again discuss the transfer of hours from IDW to ZXZ. 'I just remember having concerns about what was happening,' Mr Robinson said. 'I said I didn't feel comfortable doing it,' he said. 'I don't think (Mr Wright) was upset … he sort of said: 'That's OK.'' A secret mobile audio recording of this hospital visit allegedly captured Mr Wright talking about IDW flight times over the phone. Mr Robinson admitted he initially repeatedly lied to investigators because he 'panicked' and was worried about losing his pilot's licence. PILOT'S COCAINE PARTYING Mr Robinson admitted he used cocaine 'a couple times a year' – up to 10 times over 12 months – but he denied he was a 'raging cocaine junkie'. The former pilot said he had never flown a helicopter while intoxicated, either by drugs or alcohol. He admitted he sometimes supplied cocaine for his mates and footy players, as well as flying small amounts of booze into Aboriginal communities. But Mr Robinson denied being a 'drug dealer' while being questioned about a series of texts about his wild partying. Mr Wright's defence counsel David Edwardson accused Mr Robinson of 'sourcing and supplying' cocaine from 2018 to the time of the crash. Mr Edwardson read messages from the pilot's friends asking 'are you getting more coke?', 'Seb any chance you know where to get the good stuff?' and 'anyone got bags?'. In one message exchange, Mr Robinson told a friend he was 'crook as a dog', with his mate replying 'snorting too much coke out of Matty's arse?'. Mr Robinson said the friend knew Mr Wright. But the lawyer has said the reality star had a 'zero tolerance' approach to drugs. Under cross-examination, Mr Robinson was also grilled about a message sent to a mate in November 2019, saying there were 'footy players in town wanting bags' and other texts referring to 'zingers' and 'pills'. 'Are you implying I'm a drug dealer? … No,' Mr Robinson said. While Mr Robinson did not believe he was a trafficker, Justice Alan Blow explained: 'It is trafficking, even if you're not making any money for yourself.' Trace amounts of cocaine were detected in Mr Robinson's blood, which prosecutor Jason Gullaci said experts were likely to say was from use days before the crash. Mr Robinson admitted to flying in booze to remote communities, but said he did not sell the alcohol. He said 'on occasion' he would take a small amount of alcohol under the seat of his chopper for people in Arnhem Land. PILOT'S INJURIES Mr Robinson said his last memory from that fateful day was 'having a laugh' with his mate in the chopper. The jury was shown a photo of Mr Wilson piloting the Robinson R-44, with the image appearing to capture the fuel gauge between three-quarters and completely full mark. Mr Robinson said at that level, the helicopter should have been able to travel from Noonamah to King River and back. He became emotional as he shared his next memory – waking up in hospital, then being told his friend was dead and he would likely never walk again. Mr Robinson's spinal cord was completely severed, he had 12 broken ribs and puncturing in his lungs. His neck, elbow and both ankles were also fractured. He said he struggled with his memory due to a traumatic brain injury. NETFLIX STAR AN 'IDOL' Fellow helicopter pilot Jock Purcell told the jury he took official aviation records from Mr Robinson's home two days after the crash but could not recall who asked him to do it. He said he did not show the logbook to anyone or take photos of the official records, but was later asked by Mr Robinson to return the records. 'I took it home, and then Seb's brothers come and got it from my house,' Mr Purcell said. However, in a tapped telephone conversation between Mr Purcell and Mr Wright five months after the crash, the pair allegedly discussed Mr Robinson talking to investigators, the crashed chopper's maintenance release and Hobbs Meter, which records flight hours. 'Something had gone on with the Hobbs there, I dunno, they've moved it forward or some f***ing thing as well,' Mr Wright said. 'I'm just trying to think how much Sebby's, or what Sebby's tried to say to them, if anything even.' The pair then said some of that information could have been gathered from the maintenance release, which pilots fill out to record flight hours and service histories of helicopters. Three years after the bugged call, Mr Purcell told the court he was unsure if it was related to the crash investigation. Mr Purcell, who arrived at the crash scene, initially said he did not remember anyone approaching but then said the only thing removed were a few headsets. However, under cross examination, Mr Purcell said: 'I know someone lifted the dash of the helicopter.' Mr Purcell said he checked to see why the chopper might have gone down, and happened to notice the Hobbs Meter was connected. But Mr Gullaci alleged the sole purpose for Mr Purcell to look under the dash was to inspect this device 'because you knew there was a practice among Matt Wright's helicopters of the Hobbs Meter being disconnected'. 'And you wanted to see whether it was connected or not, for when investigators turned up to look at the crashed helicopter?' Mr Gullaci asked. Mr Purcell said he did not believe that was the case. When asked what else he could have been inspecting, the experienced pilot said: 'I'm not an investigator so I don't know.' However, Mr Purcell had already conceded there was a pattern of not recording flight hours, and had previously seen both Mr Wright and Mr Robinson disconnect the Hobbs Meter. He said there were times when the flight hour recorder was disconnected because 'it was getting close to service'. Mr Robinson also made full admissions to the jury of his own dodgy record keeping practices, which he said were common across the Territory helicopter industry. After almost a decade in the industry, Mr Robinson alleged he had worked for two other businesses which had similarly failed to properly record flight hours. Mr Robinson agreed he continued to 'break the rules' while working at Mr Wright's company. '(Mr Wright) would say 'pop the clock for this trip',' Mr Robinson alleged. He also said Mr Wright 'controlled all aspects of his aircraft regarding maintenance scheduling'. Mr Robinson said employees 'absolutely' followed Mr Wright's directions. 'We were young men, we looked up to him,' he said. 'Everyone looked at Matt as an idol. He'd say 'jump' and they'd say 'how high?' 'He had an aura about him. 'Everyone wanted to be around him, work for him, everyone bent over backwards to try and be a part of what he was doing.' The trial continues.
Perth Now
a day ago
- Perth Now
Wild claims about ‘idolised' Netflix star
A Netflix reality star 'idolised' by his staff was an 'anti-vaxxer' who broke Covid-19 laws and was allegedly secretly recorded talking about tinkering with flight records while visiting a chopper crash survivor left paraplegic in hospital, a jury has heard. The extraordinary claims about Outback Wrangler Matt Wright were made this week during his trial in the Northern Territory Supreme Court, where he is charged with three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice. The 45-year-old celebrity is accused of failing to accurately record flight times in the Robinson-R-44 that crashed in February 2022, killing his co-star Chris 'Willow' Wilson. It is not alleged Mr Wright is responsible for the crash. Mr Wilson, 34, was dangling from a sling attached to the helicopter during a dangerous crocodile egg collecting mission when the chopper crashed in Arnhem Land. Outback Wrangler Matt Wright is accused of fudging the chopper log books. NewsWire / Pema Tamang Pakhrin Credit: NewsWire CHOPPER RECORDS ALLEGEDLY FUDGED Pilot Seb Robinson, who survived the crash but is now a paraplegic, testified his former boss was an 'anti-vaxxer' despite Mr Wright going to two Covid restricted areas – the remote helicopter crash site and the injured pilot's Brisbane hospital room. He told the jury the main reason Mr Wright was not on the egg mission was 'because he was an anti-vaxxer'. At the time, there were strict Covid rules for anyone entering remote areas in the Territory, where they needed to provide proof of vaccination and take a rapid antigen test. The jury previously heard Mr Wright flew to the crash site with Wild Harvest NT director Mick Burns and off-duty senior NT Police officer Neil Mellon. Following the crash, Mr Robinson spent one month in hospital, where Covid restrictions meant two people could visit and everyone needed to provide a valid vaccination certificate. Mr Robinson said he had just come out of a coma, was heavily sedated and 'hallucinating' but 'vaguely' remembered a visit from Mr Wright and his wife Kaia on March 11. 'I have a vivid memory of him having some sort of paperwork in his hands,' Mr Robinson said. Seb Robinson is now a paraplegic. Instagram Credit: News Corp Australia He alleged his boss wanted to move 'a few' hours from the crashed helicopter – with the call sign IDW – to Mr Robinson's personal chopper, with the call sign ZXZ. Mr Robinson, 28, also alleged Mr Wright 'asked to go through my phone and delete a few things'. 'I remember looking over and seeing him holding my phone and flicking through it and deleting things,' Mr Robinson said. The jury heard the former pilot also deleted 'some stuff', including phone notes for start and stop times for IDW during egg collection trips. 'It was a very hard time for me. I didn't know who to trust and I panicked and went along with it,' he said. Mr Robinson alleged on Mr Wright's second hospital visit he brought Jai Thomlinson to again discuss the transfer of hours from IDW to ZXZ. 'I just remember having concerns about what was happening,' Mr Robinson said. 'I said I didn't feel comfortable doing it,' he said. 'I don't think (Mr Wright) was upset … he sort of said: 'That's OK.'' A secret mobile audio recording of this hospital visit allegedly captured Mr Wright talking about IDW flight times over the phone. Mr Robinson admitted he initially repeatedly lied to investigators because he 'panicked' and was worried about losing his pilot's licence. Chris Wilson's widow, Dani Wilson, has been attending the trial. NewsWire / Pema Tamang Pakhrin Credit: NewsWire PILOT'S COCAINE PARTYING Mr Robinson admitted he used cocaine 'a couple times a year' – up to 10 times over 12 months – but he denied he was a 'raging cocaine junkie'. The former pilot said he had never flown a helicopter while intoxicated, either by drugs or alcohol. He admitted he sometimes supplied cocaine for his mates and footy players, as well as flying small amounts of booze into Aboriginal communities. But Mr Robinson denied being a 'drug dealer' while being questioned about a series of texts about his wild partying. Mr Wright's defence counsel David Edwardson accused Mr Robinson of 'sourcing and supplying' cocaine from 2018 to the time of the crash. Mr Edwardson read messages from the pilot's friends asking 'are you getting more coke?', 'Seb any chance you know where to get the good stuff?' and 'anyone got bags?'. In one message exchange, Mr Robinson told a friend he was 'crook as a dog', with his mate replying 'snorting too much coke out of Matty's arse?'. Mr Robinson said the friend knew Mr Wright. But the lawyer has said the reality star had a 'zero tolerance' approach to drugs. Under cross-examination, Mr Robinson was also grilled about a message sent to a mate in November 2019, saying there were 'footy players in town wanting bags' and other texts referring to 'zingers' and 'pills'. 'Are you implying I'm a drug dealer? … No,' Mr Robinson said. Crown Prosecutor Jason Gullaci outside court. NewsWire / Pema Tamang Pakhrin Credit: NewsWire While Mr Robinson did not believe he was a trafficker, Justice Alan Blow explained: 'It is trafficking, even if you're not making any money for yourself.' Trace amounts of cocaine were detected in Mr Robinson's blood, which prosecutor Jason Gullaci said experts were likely to say was from use days before the crash. Mr Robinson admitted to flying in booze to remote communities, but said he did not sell the alcohol. He said 'on occasion' he would take a small amount of alcohol under the seat of his chopper for people in Arnhem Land. PILOT'S INJURIES Mr Robinson said his last memory from that fateful day was 'having a laugh' with his mate in the chopper. The jury was shown a photo of Mr Wilson piloting the Robinson R-44, with the image appearing to capture the fuel gauge between three-quarters and completely full mark. Mr Robinson said at that level, the helicopter should have been able to travel from Noonamah to King River and back. He became emotional as he shared his next memory – waking up in hospital, then being told his friend was dead and he would likely never walk again. Mr Robinson's spinal cord was completely severed, he had 12 broken ribs and puncturing in his lungs. His neck, elbow and both ankles were also fractured. He said he struggled with his memory due to a traumatic brain injury. Mr Wright has pleaded not guilty to the charges. NewsWire / Pema Tamang Pakhrin Credit: NewsWire NETFLIX STAR AN 'IDOL' Fellow helicopter pilot Jock Purcell told the jury he took official aviation records from Mr Robinson's home two days after the crash but could not recall who asked him to do it. He said he did not show the logbook to anyone or take photos of the official records, but was later asked by Mr Robinson to return the records. 'I took it home, and then Seb's brothers come and got it from my house,' Mr Purcell said. However, in a tapped telephone conversation between Mr Purcell and Mr Wright five months after the crash, the pair allegedly discussed Mr Robinson talking to investigators, the crashed chopper's maintenance release and Hobbs Meter, which records flight hours. 'Something had gone on with the Hobbs there, I dunno, they've moved it forward or some f***ing thing as well,' Mr Wright said. 'I'm just trying to think how much Sebby's, or what Sebby's tried to say to them, if anything even.' The pair then said some of that information could have been gathered from the maintenance release, which pilots fill out to record flight hours and service histories of helicopters. Three years after the bugged call, Mr Purcell told the court he was unsure if it was related to the crash investigation. Mr Purcell, who arrived at the crash scene, initially said he did not remember anyone approaching but then said the only thing removed were a few headsets. However, under cross examination, Mr Purcell said: 'I know someone lifted the dash of the helicopter.' Outback Wrangler Matt Wright has been supported in court by his wife Kaia. NewsWire / Pema Tamang Pakhrin Credit: NewsWire Mr Purcell said he checked to see why the chopper might have gone down, and happened to notice the Hobbs Meter was connected. But Mr Gullaci alleged the sole purpose for Mr Purcell to look under the dash was to inspect this device 'because you knew there was a practice among Matt Wright's helicopters of the Hobbs Meter being disconnected'. 'And you wanted to see whether it was connected or not, for when investigators turned up to look at the crashed helicopter?' Mr Gullaci asked. Mr Purcell said he did not believe that was the case. When asked what else he could have been inspecting, the experienced pilot said: 'I'm not an investigator so I don't know.' However, Mr Purcell had already conceded there was a pattern of not recording flight hours, and had previously seen both Mr Wright and Mr Robinson disconnect the Hobbs Meter. Helicopter pilot Jock Purcell worked for Outback Wrangler Matt Wright. Credit: News Corp Australia He said there were times when the flight hour recorder was disconnected because 'it was getting close to service'. Mr Robinson also made full admissions to the jury of his own dodgy record keeping practices, which he said were common across the Territory helicopter industry. After almost a decade in the industry, Mr Robinson alleged he had worked for two other businesses which had similarly failed to properly record flight hours. Mr Robinson agreed he continued to 'break the rules' while working at Mr Wright's company. '(Mr Wright) would say 'pop the clock for this trip',' Mr Robinson alleged. He also said Mr Wright 'controlled all aspects of his aircraft regarding maintenance scheduling'. Mr Robinson said employees 'absolutely' followed Mr Wright's directions. 'We were young men, we looked up to him,' he said. 'Everyone looked at Matt as an idol. He'd say 'jump' and they'd say 'how high?' 'He had an aura about him. 'Everyone wanted to be around him, work for him, everyone bent over backwards to try and be a part of what he was doing.' The trial continues.
