Al Pacino: Star 'didn't have a pulse' during COVID infection

Al Pacino reveals COVID-19 infection in 2020 nearly killed him: ‘I didn’t have a pulse’

Al Pacino wearing a scarf while posing somberly against a black background

Oct. 7, 2024 10:43 AM PT

When Al Pacino contracted COVID-19 four years ago, he nearly came face to face with death. But he says he “didn’t see the white light or anything.”

“There’s nothing there,” the 84-year-old screen legend recalled, adding, “[I]t was no more. You’re gone.”

The Oscar winner, promoting his new memoir, “Sonny Boy,” revisited his bout of COVID-19, telling the New York Times how his near-death experience unfolded. Amid the heat of the pandemic in 2020, the “Scarface” and “Godfather” star didn’t feel well. He said he was dehydrated and running a fever. After enlisting a nurse to help manage his hydration, Pacino says, “I was gone.”

“Like that. I didn’t have a pulse,” he said. “In a matter of minutes they were there — the ambulance in front of my house.”

The actor recalled the medical team that swiftly assembled in his home, including six paramedics and two doctors who wore gear “that looked like they were from outer space or something.” He added “it was shocking to open your eyes and see that.”

The veteran actor called his brush with death “strange porridge,” explaining that it made him question his own existence (“You’re here, you’re not”) and his memories. He joked elsewhere in the interview: “You know actors: It sounds good to say ‘I died once.’”

Pacino and girlfriend Noor Alfallah, 29, welcomed baby boy Roman last year. Despite feeling “there’s no more” after death, Pacino said he feels “having children is a consolation.” He also said that Roman, one of his four children, is one of the reasons he wanted to write “Sonny Boy.”

“That has been a campaign for me to stick around longer if it’s possible,” said the actor, who has several film projects lined up.

“Sonny Boy” hits shelves Oct. 15.