The long-term effects of having COVID-19 are no joke, just ask Bryan Cranston.
Months after quietly fighting off the contagious illness in March, the former Breaking Bad star revealed that he has yet to fully regain his sense of taste and smell. He had battled the virus alongside his wife, Robin Dearden, for about 10 days.
“The only thing that lingered, and still is to this day, is that I lost a percentage of my ability to taste and smell,” Cranston, 64, said on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Friday, December 4. “I think about 75 percent has come back, but if someone was brewing coffee and I walk into a kitchen, I can’t smell it.”
The Malcolm in the Middle alum added, “We were very lucky though, in all seriousness. We had a few days of achiness, but not enough to keep you in bed. I had a temperature of 99 for about three hours and then just exhaustion for a week after that.”
In July, Cranston shared via Instagram that he had privately battled coronavirus. Sharing a video of himself donating plasma to help others struggling with the deadly virus, he wrote an extensive statement about the severity of the global health crisis.
“I was pretty strict in adhering to the protocols and still … I contracted the virus,” he wrote at the time. “Yep. It sounds daunting now that over 150,000 Americans are dead because of it. I was one of the lucky ones.”
The Emmy winner noted that he experienced “mild symptoms” before heeding a warning to his followers. “I count my blessings and urge you to keep wearing the damn mask, keep washing your hands, and stay socially distant. We can prevail — but ONLY if we follow the rules together. Be well — Stay well,” he added.
Nearly one month later, Cranston further detailed his battle during a Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon appearance. The Your Honor star revealed that he contracted the disease around the same time as Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, both of whom were the first stars to announce their diagnoses.
“They came out with it right away, and I thought, ‘That’s great.’ There’s no need for another celebrity to say, ‘Hey, I got it too.’ So, I just kept it quiet,” he previously explained to host Jimmy Fallon. “We were very lucky. So many people are suffering desperately from this. My wife and I had a week of extreme exhaustion and some body aches, a little dry cough. And then it was gone.”
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