Antonio Banderas speaks about how having a heart attack changed his life for the better

Virgin Radio

24 Jan 2023, 09:07

Antonio Banderas has opened up about how his heart attack made him look at life "from a different point of view."

The Hollywood star currently voices the main character in Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, which deals with the subject of mortality, and finds Puss on the last of his nine lives. With the film set for release in the UK next week, Antonio has been speaking about his own brush with death.

Having been rushed to hospital in 2017 after experiencing chest pains while he was exercising, the Spanish actor recently told the Radio Times (as reported by The Mirror): "I had a heart attack six years ago. It probably was one of the best things that happened in my life. It was like putting glasses on and seeing what was important.”

The Zorro legend continued: “Since my heart attack, I’m looking only for the pleasure of acting. That’s it. I don’t care about anything else. For me, life starts when somebody says, ‘Action!’ – or when the curtain comes up."

The actor previously explained that his girlfriend Nicole Kimpel saved his life by giving him an aspirin which she had bought to help cure a headache. 

Speaking on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Antonio explained: “'She bought this aspirin, which is the only thing that she found and she found the maximum one.

"The next morning, when I started having the symptoms, and I clearly knew what was going on, she put one of those aspirins on my tongue, and that saved my life.”

"So I had a second chance, and some stuff changed in my life, since then."

The Desperado star said that his “priorities” shifted after his heart attack. “You put attention to the real things,” he said. “What are the real things? My daughter is the real thing, My family, and my vocation as an actor.”

Antonio appears in Puss in Boots: The Last Wish as part of an all-star comedic cast, including Olivia Colman, Ray Winstone, Samson Kayo, Anthony Mendez and Da'Vine Joy Randolph. 

Puss in Boots lands in UK cinemas on 3rd February.