The West Wing actor Richard Schiff has told how he had to have a conversation with his wife about never seeing her again as he battled Covid-19.
The 65-year-old, best known for playing White House communications director Toby Ziegler in the political drama, was admitted to hospital in the US last month.
He told Good Morning Britain: “I’m an ex-smoker and I’m pre-diabetic and I’m old.
'It was really scary.'
The West Wing actor @Richard_Schiff recalls his battle with Covid-19 to @piersmorgan and @susannareid100.
He adds that he had the conversation about not making it through with his wife after he was told it was 'touch and go'. pic.twitter.com/5PCEOJky2O
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) December 16, 2020
“I’m an old dude, and so I have some strikes against me, so I anticipated this was possible, but when it happened, it was really scary.”
The actor said: “I had to have the conversation with my wife, about maybe not seeing her again and because the doctor had convinced me that it was going to be touch and go.”
Schiff added: “The worst part of it is the epiphany, the realisation that you might never get to touch each other again and that for some reason struck me, struck home more than anything else.”
Schiff’s wife, Sheila Kelley, also had Covid-19.
“I have never experienced anything like this before in my life. One minute I’m feeling pretty good and the next I’m struggling to breathe,” she previously said.