Supernatural actor Mark Sheppard recently posted a harrowing story about a health issue on Instagram (via Deadline), saying he just survived six heart attacks and that he died “four times.” In the post, which features a photo of himself in a hospital bed hooked up to some monitors, Sheppard says he collapsed in his kitchen and had “six massive heart attacks,” with doctors later saying he had a 100 percent blockage in his left anterior descending artery—a condition he called “The Widowmaker.” He says his chances of survival were “virtually nil,” but added that he now feels “great” and will be going home tomorrow.
Sheppard played fan-favorite demon Crowley for a good chunk of Supernatural’s run on The CW, and a number of friends he met on that show and elsewhere have left supportive comments on his Instagram post. One of those came from Misha Collins, the actor behind the angel Castiel on Supernatural, who joked to Sheppard that he doesn’t “need to do the most and biggest every time” and that “two or three” heart attacks “would have been impressive enough.” Collins then told his friend to “stop with this” and to “heal up.”
Felicia Day, John Barrowman, Devon Sawa, Rachel Miner, Matt Bomer, Jewel Staite, Michelle Gomez, and (somewhat oddly) the Los Angeles Fire Department all left nice comments on Sheppard’s Instagram. (He had thanked the Los Angeles Fire Department for its help in his initial post, but you don’t really expect a fire department to respond).
In addition to his memorable role on Supernatural, Sheppard is also known for popping up on Doom Patrol, Doctor Who, Firefly, Battlestar Galactica, and (most recently) Walker: Independence—a spin-off of the show that Jared Padalecki went to star in after his time on Supernatural ended.