Antonio Banderas has revealed that he had an awakening after suffering a heart attack five years ago.
Back in 2017, the-then 56-year-old actor - who is best known for playing Don De la Vega in The Mask of Zorro - had been in excellent health until the medical emergency set in.
Banderas suffered a heart attack and revealed that he survived the ordeal because his longtime girlfriend Nicole Kimpel reacted quickly and gave him an aspirin to thin the blood. While it didn't cause any serious damage, he had to undergo a procedure to insert three stents into his arteries, per Page Six.
Now 62, athletically fit, and as productive as he's ever been, the renowned Spanish star opened up with the publication again and said the health scare was "one of the best things that's happened in my life".
"I realized that it probably was one of the best things that ever happened in my life because the things that were not important and I was worried every day about them, meaningless," the actor exclusively told the outlet.
"I was like, why am I worried about that if I’m going to die?", he explained. "I knew always [that I was going to die], but now I know. I’ve seen it right here."
The Puss In Boots voice star added that the significant people in his life like his daughter Stella - whom he shares with Melanie Griffith - his friends, family, and his "vocation as an actor" remained his top priorities, and he began to separate from "things that I thought were important before but weren’t really".
In 2022, the Desperado actor starred as Santiago Moncada, the antagonist in Uncharted which also features Tom Holland. In 2023, he will be appearing in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny with Mads Mikkelsen, Harrison Ford, and Toby Jones.
Also, Banderas will be reprising his role in Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, in which the feline realizes that he has used eight of his nine lives and ventures on a hunt to uncover the mythical last wish.
Adding to the outlet, the Spy Kids actor revealed that he's had difficult moments in his life, but they don't last long as he's "a very positive person by nature. My depressions last five minutes, I bounce back immediately".
The Oscar nominee - who is currently appearing on stage in Madrid, Spain in Company - also alluded that he is preparing a long-awaited return to Broadway after winning a Tony Award in 2003 for Nine.
"Something has been written as we talk," Banderas said, explaining that the character will make sense for his Iberian accent.
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish will be in theaters on December 21.