Al Pacino 'didn't have a pulse' during near-death experience while battling COVID-19

Al Pacino is opening up about a scary near-death experience.

The Oscar-winning "Scarface" actor, 84, revealed on The New York Times' "The Interview" podcast that he became seriously ill while battling COVID-19 in 2020. The actor recalled feeling "unusually not good" and suffering from a fever and dehydration before losing consciousness.

"I was sitting there in my house, and I was gone, like that," Pacino said. "Absolutely gone. So then they looked at my pulse, and I didn't have a pulse. It probably was very, very low, and they got panicked right away."

An ambulance soon arrived at Pacino's home, and six paramedics rushed into his living room. He remembered regaining consciousness and feeling shocked when he opened his eyes and saw the paramedics and two doctors surrounding him.

"They said, 'He's back,'" Pacino recounted. "'He's here.'"

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The "Godfather" star said he didn't see a "white light" during the experience, which made him reflect on the possibility of there being "no more" after death. "I started thinking about that, and I never thought about it in my life," he said, noting it's "natural to have a different view on death" as you get older.

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"It sounds good to me to say I died once," Pacino joked. "It felt like death."

He also thought about the fact that "you're here" one minute and the next, "you're not." "Wow, you don't even have your memories?" Pacino asked. "You have nothing. Strange porridge."

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Last year, Pacino became a father again at age 83, welcoming a baby boy with Noor Alfallah. He also shares three kids with his ex-girlfriends Jan Tarrant and Beverly D'Angelo. Reflecting on the birth of his youngest child, Pacino told the Times, "You look at it a little differently now. You look at it like, 'What is this? This is so amazing.'"

Pacino's recent performances have included a role in "The Irishman," a Martin Scorsese gangster epic that reflects on mortality and aging and received 10 Oscar nominations in 2020.

During the podcast, the actor also touched on his performance in the critically detested 2011 Adam Sandler movie "Jack and Jill." The film, often dubbed one of the worst comedies of all time, features a widely mocked scene where Pacino's character stars in an absurd, musical commercial for Dunkin' Donuts.

When the Times asked which performance Pacino's youngest son should watch to remember him by, he said he should "start off" with "Jack and Jill" and acknowledged doing the movie after finding out he had "no more money."

"My accountant was in prison, and I needed something quickly," he said. "So I took this. There's this thing I do in that film, a Dunkin' Donuts commercial. You know how many people think I actually made that commercial? I mean, it's just so unfair!"

Pacino's new memoir "Sonny Boy" is set to hit bookshelves on Oct. 15.

Contributing: Naledi Ushe and Morgan Hines