Ashton Kutcher gets vulnerable as he shares for the first time about a health crisis in his family.
On an episode of “The Checkup with Dr. David Agus,” a new docuseries on Paramount+ where notable names sit down with Dr. Agus to discuss personal health issues, the “That ’70s Show” star describes a terrifying moment when his twin brother Michael was in the hospital.
“… Suddenly my dad comes, picks me up, and it’s like, ‘You’re going to go see your brother.’ And I’m like … everything is not okay,’” Ashton recalls as his eyes tear up.
“And he flatlines in the room,” he continued. “And I know that noise because now I’ve been visiting occasionally and watching the thing go, and then it flatlines out and they’re like … grabbing me and they take me out and I’m like, ‘What the hell is going [on]?’”
Although the teaser clip ends there, in the trailer for the show, the brothers are seen sharing a tender moment in which they grab each other’s hands.
In a 2019 interview with US Weekly, Michael, who has cerebral palsy, talked about a near death experience he had when he was a kid. He told the outlet that he was also diagnosed with cardiomyopathy at age 13, meaning his heart grew four times the size of a normal one. He was told he only had a few weeks left to live, and soon after, he went into cardiac arrest.
Thankfully, he got a last minute heart transplant from a donor, which saved his life.
The trailer (below) also gives a sneak peak into Ashton discussing his own health condition.
“I was unable to walk and suddenly can’t see…” Ashton said in the trailer. “When you have this face to face with death, you instantly lock in to: ‘what are you doing with today.’”
Earlier this year, Ashton revealed on an episode of National Geographic’s “Running Wild with Bear Grylls: The Challenge” that three years ago he had a rare form of vasculitis — an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation and narrowing of blood vessels.
He later clarified on Twitter that his vision and hearing were temporarily affected, and he experienced balance issues. He noted that he has “fully recovered” since.
The first three episodes of “The Checkup with Dr. David Agus,” will premiere on the platform on Dec. 6.
