'Jimmy Kimmel Live': Antonio Banderas reveals how a heart attack and an extra aspirin changed his priorities in life
Antonio Banderas's film 'Pain and Glory' talks about director Pedro Almodóvar and how his life decisions shaped the life he lives currently. Appearing on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live', the actor opened up about how he could relate to the movie. Banderas reflected upon the time when he suffered a heart attack and how fate has its way of playing around.
He recalled that a day before he suffered a heart attack, his girlfriend had a headache and the two decided to head to the pharmacy to get an aspirin. While his girlfriend dropped the extra aspirin on the floor while billing, she was reminded about it by the cashier.
Little did they know that the extra aspirin is what would save Banderas's life the next day. The actor started feeling a pain in the chest and soon realized that they were signs of a heart attack. Luckily, his girlfriend had the extra aspirin and decided to place it in his mouth. Banderas says that it saved his life and since then he believes it was God's way of giving him a second chance at life.
The actor further added that ever since the incident, he has changed his priorities. "Things that I gave importance to and I started putting attention to real things. My daughter is a real thing. My friends, my family, these are the best things," he said. Banderas even decided to invest in a theater and a bar.
After suffering a heart attack he realized that money sitting in the bank is of no use and instead should be used for things that bring joy. "I started thinking that money in a bank but not helpful and I wanted to have something that I could enjoy and theater and a bar was something that I wanted and it was the perfect way to ruin me," he said.
In his upcoming movie 'Pain and Glory', Banderas is playing director Almodóvar, whom he has worked with since the 1980s and done eight movies together. Banderas felt as if the role was a compliment when Almodóvar approached him for the same.
He revealed that working with Almodóvar helped him know the character better and connect to it on a much deeper emotional level. At the same time, he added that the movie was more than a biographical movie as it allowed Almodóvar to say things to people that he otherwise cannot in the real world.