Comedian Kevin Smith got emotional as he recalled the moment he thought he might die while suffering a massive heart attack on Sunday, as he revealed he initially brushed off the symptoms as nothing more than having drank some bad milk.
The actor and director choked back tears as he described the strange feeling of calm that came over him as he thought about his family, friends and his ‘weird and wonderful career’.
‘I was content,’ he said in the Facebook Live video, filmed from his hospital bed. ‘I didn’t wanna die, don’t get me wrong, but I thought if the ferry man comes tonight… what a ride it’s been’.
But it took some time to convince the Clerks director that his condition was even serious, let alone a major heart attack.
Comedian Kevin Smith got emotional as he recalled the moment he thought he might die while suffering a massive heart attack on Sunday
The actor and director choked back tears as he described the strange feeling of calm that came over him as he thought about his family, friends and his ‘weird and wonderful career’
Smith said he’d been at the Alex Theater in Glendale, California, filming two comedy specials on Sunday when he fell ill.
The 47-year-old had just finished the first special when he says he was hit with a wave of nausea.
‘I thought I got some bad milk,’ he said in the clip, laughing, ‘I was honestly under the impression I got some f**king bad milk.’
It took some time to convince the Clerks director that his condition was even serious, let alone a major heart attack, he said in the Facebook Live video, filmed from his hospital bed
Survivor: Kevin Smith posted a selfie from his hospital bed, revealing to his followers on Twitter that he had survived a massive heart attack
Smith said he went to lay down in the theater but could not get comfortable. He then stated feeling a pressure on his chest.
‘I just couldn’t catch my breath,’ he said. ‘But honestly, I was never in pain.
‘So because of that, and because I’m 47, I didn’t piece together I was having a heart attack… even though my chest was heavy and even though my father died of age of 67 died of a massive heart attack. Even though my mother had heart problems and has two stents.
‘Honestly, I thought I was just mucasy – I smoked two joints earlier in the day.’
Eventually, he agreed to call a doctor and an ambulance was called for the Jay and silent Bob Strike Back star.
Smith explained that even when the paramedics arrived, he was more embarrassed than worried, until he heard someone use the phrase ‘heart attack.’
Iconic: Smith, centre, as Silent Bob, in his 2001 film Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back, along with Jason Mewes, left, as Jay, and Ben Affleck, right, as Holden McNeil
‘I was like what? No, surely not.
‘I never in a million years thought it was a heart attack,’ he continued.
The New Jersey native, who said he’d recently lost 85lbs and was walking everyday, revealed that doctors found he had a complete blockage in one of his main arteries. He has now had a stent implanted and will have to take medication for the rest of his life.
‘The Doctor who saved my life told me I had 100% blockage of my LAD artery (aka ‘the Widow-Maker’),’ Smith tweeted on Monday night. ‘If I hadn’t canceled show 2 to go to the hospital, I would’ve died tonight.’
‘But for now, I’m still above ground,’ he added.
‘They literally saved my life,’ he added in the video.
The ‘Comic Book Men’ thanked Glendale Adventist Hospital for their treatment and to all his fans for their ‘incredible well-wishes… it meant the world. I sat there reading tons of it last night.’
He also thanked Hollywood actor Chris Pratt who tweeted Smith his prayers to get well.
The Parks and Recreation star wrote: ‘Kevin we don’t know each other too good but I have loved you since Clerks and I’m praying my ass off for you cause I believe in the healing power of prayer.’
Smith is best known as the director of 90s comedy Clerks, in which he also starred as one half of the stoner duo Jay and Silent Bob.
The twosome later appeared in their own spinoff Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back in 2001 and the Clerks sequel Clerks II in 2006.
Smith also directed 1999 comedy Dogma and 2008 film Zack and Miri Make A Porno among several others.
Smith had no known health problems, but has spoken openly about his body-weight issues and being a yo-yo dieter.
In 2010, he was famously kicked off a Southwest Airlines flight for being too fat to fit in a single seat, after which he proceeded to lose 65 lbs before ‘putting it all back on’.
In 2015, he revealed that he had lost 85 lbs following another weight gain.
Lucky escape: Smith (pictured in March last year) revealed that he had fallen ill after a taped stand-up performance and had been rushed to hospital