“Supernatural” and “Battlestar Galactica” star Mark Sheppard opened up about enduring six heart attacks, an experience he said humbled and humiliated him.
Sheppard appeared as a guest on a fellow actor’s podcast, “Inside You with Michael Rosenbaum,” where Sheppard opened up about his health journey and how he felt his physical fitness played a role in his survival.
“I was looked after by the best of the best of the best, and if I hadn’t been wanting to lose weight to get fitter, I probably wouldn’t have survived,” Sheppard said. “If I had got in my friend’s car, my friend’s last knowledge of me would have been dying in his car.”
While he said he is happy to have made it through, he explained that at the time, he was in a transitional period in his life — personally and professionally.
“Am I grateful? Uhh, yeah,” Sheppard explained. “I was in a massive change spot. I’m in a change position. I am hungry to do something now. I’ve done what I’ve been doing…I’ve had these incredible moments, ‘In the Name of the Father,’ television stuff, ‘Battlestar, ‘Supernatural,’ for what it is, absolutely incredible. Changed my life. My life would not be the same without it. I’m ready for my next and I’m going to do something about this. And as I do it, it’s like, ‘Oh, by the way, you need to fix this.’”
Explaining that his fitness and health were top of mind, he noted that he appreciates the ways the experience has been humbling and revealed he’s ashamed of getting plastic surgery.
“It’s humbling. The tummy tuck thing was embarrassing, but it was the best thing I could do with a massive cancer scar,” Sheppard said, “but I couldn’t lose weight because my heart wasn’t functioning.”
Sheppard added that he felt he was “presented with a choice” the day his heart stopped.
“I passed out in front of the oven, the second time down. The first time, I didn’t know what the hell was going on. The second time, I got out and I moved. You’re not supposed to do stuff like that. The second time, they paddled me awake,” Sheppard said. “It’s humbling in the most beautiful way… I absolutely knew I was dead. I knew if I breathed out, or some version of breathing out, and relaxed, it was over.”
In December, Sheppard took to Instagram and shared the news that he’d suffered “six massive heart attacks” after he collapsed in his kitchen.
“You’re not going to believe this!” he wrote Saturday on Instagram. “Was on my way to an appointment yesterday when I collapsed in my kitchen. Six massive heart attacks later, and being brought back from dead 4 times I apparently had a 100% blockage in my LAD. The Widowmaker.”
He continued: “If not for my wife, the @losangelesfiredepartment at mullholland and the incredible staff @providencecalifornia St Joseph’s – I wouldn’t be writing this. My chances of survival were virtually nil. I feel great. Humbled once more. Home tomorrow!”
