Arnold Schwarzenegger opened up about a terrifying medical ordeal that nearly cost him his life. The actor recalled undergoing what was supposed to be a routine, noninvasive open-heart surgery, only for things to take a sudden and life-threatening turn. During the operation, doctors accidentally pierced the wall of his heart, forcing them to perform emergency surgery to save him.

Schwarzenegger described waking up in the hospital surrounded by doctors, who told him something had gone wrong. “It was a disaster,” he said. The timing couldn’t have been worse — he was just days away from starting work on Terminator: Dark Fate. Faced with fear and uncertainty, he knew he had to shift his mindset quickly and focus on recovery.