Aaron Sorkin Suffered Stroke Last Fall: ‘A Loud Wake-Up Call’

Oscar winner Aaron Sorkin, 61, just revealed that he suffered a stroke in November.

The screenwriter opened up to The New York Times about the major health scare, saying it served as a “loud wake-up call.”

He first noticed a problem when he woke in the middle of the night and tried walking to the kitchen. On the way, he crashed into walls and corners. He brushed off the signs, but the next morning he kept spilling his orange juice.

Sorkin called his doctor, who asked him to come in. That’s when he found out his blood pressure was so high “you’re supposed to be dead” and learned he’d had a stroke.

In the month that followed, Aaron was slurring his words and having trouble writing and typing. He was discouraged from flying as well. While he’s doing much better now, he still can’t taste food and writing can be a bit difficult.

The star shared, “Mostly it was a loud wake-up call. I thought I was one of those people who could eat whatever he wanted, smoke as much as he wanted, and it’s not going to affect me. Boy, was I wrong.”

He started smoking in high school and found the habit intertwined with his writing process.

“It was just part of it, the way a pen was part of it,” he said. “I don’t want to talk about it too much, because I’ll start to salivate.”

He quit smoking cold turkey after the stroke and started eating better and working out twice a day. Sorkin added, “I take a lot of medicine. You can hear the pills rattling around in me.”

Aaron initially wanted to keep the stroke private, but explained, “If it’ll get one person to stop smoking, then it’ll be helpful.”

He admitted, “There was a minute when I was concerned that I was never going to be able to write again.”

At the time, he was rewriting the Broadway musical “Camelot,” and said he was worried he wouldn’t be able to keep working on the project.

Thankfully, he was able to continue. The show is now in previews, and is set to open April 13.