Leslie Odom Jr. says his battle with swine flu in 2010 made him more conscious of the threat of COVID-19.
The 39-year-old actor contracted H1N1 during the swine flu pandemic in 2010 and has said going through the experience made him realize how “debilitating” viruses can be, which made him take the current health crisis more seriously.
He said: “I think, when your body houses a foreign host, I think something happens psychologically. You really realize how vulnerable you are, and how I could go from a … veritably healthy guy in my mid-20s and that I could get this illness that, in some ways, was debilitating, just really affected my trust in the world. Thank god … it was super minor.”
And the “One Night in Miami” star also detailed his battle with swine flu, which he described as “unnatural.”
Speaking on the “Hypochondriactor” podcast, he explained: “[It was] like the regular flu, which I’ve had many times, [but also different]. There was a weird component. Whatever was going on inside me did not feel natural. It felt synthetic.
“The dizziness was like nothing I’d ever experienced. There was this time, I was finally doing my laundry, this was when the laundry was downstairs, and I made a left turn and then I made another left turn, just in my building, and I went down. Making a left turn I got so dizzy that I just fell.”
Odom has even more reason to take the pandemic seriously now, too, as his wife Nicolette Robinson gave birth to the couple’s second child in March.
The couple welcomed a son named Able Phineas on March 25, 2021, who is a younger sibling for their 3-year-old Lucille Ruby.
Alongside a selection of pictures of baby Able, Odom wrote on Instagram: “More life! One whole week with our Abe. Watching Nicolette give birth to these kids…? Simply, the bravest acts I’ve ever witnessed from a foot away. I love you, sweetheart and I am in awe. Our little family bursts at the seams with joy! And gratitude.
“Able Phineas 3/25/21 More life.”
