Jamie Dornan experienced horrifying heart attack symptoms after unknowingly crossing paths with a toxic caterpillar that left him hospitalized.

Jamie Dornan had a terrifying encounter with nature during what was meant to be a relaxing golf trip with friends. His friend and BBC broadcaster Gordon Smart recalled the time they were both hospitalized after coming in contact with poisonous caterpillars in Portugal.

Jamie Dornan narrowly avoided a heart attack after run-in with ‘toxic caterpillar’

The Fifty Shades Of Grey actor headed to Portugal with Good Morning Britain presenter Gordon for a golf holiday. Just one day into their vacation, Smart claims he felt a tingling sensation in his left hand and arm, before deciding to visit a medical center. It was there when he felt his heart beginning to race. Smart initially believed he was suffering a heart attack as pain spreading up the arm is a common symptom.

He returned from the hospital to discover his Hollywood actor friend had suffered similar symptoms.

“There he was with all this stuff attached to his chest,” Gordon told the BBC’s The Good, the Bad and the Unexpected. “He was saying, ‘Gordon, about 20 minutes after you left, my left arm went numb, my left leg went numb, my right leg went numb. And I found myself in the back of an ambulance.'”

Doctors later told the pair they had likely been in contact with processionary moth caterpillars while on the golf course.

Native to southern Europe, the moths are reportedly harmless but are a concern in their caterpillar form. The insects have poisonous hairs containing thaumetopoein, a toxin that can cause itching, rashes, eye irritation, and difficulty breathing in both humans and animals.

Smart claims the caterpillars found in the south of Portugal were killing dogs and “giving men in their 40s heart attacks”. Dornan and Smart are aged 41 and 43, respectively.

“We had been very lucky to come out of that one alive,” the Scottish broadcaster added.

Dornan and Andrew Garfield’s bromance returns at fashion week

The US may have Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire’s 30-year bromance, but the UK boasts the fab four: Andrew Garfield, Jamie Dornan, Eddie Redmayne, and Robert Pattinson.

Two out of the four reunited at Loewe’s FW24 show at Paris Fashion Week on Saturday (January 20) and boy, did they look dapper. But we’re more obsessed with their friendship.

Jamie and Andrew may successfully made it in Hollywood, but they were friends before hitting the big time. The actors go way back – they moved to LA around the same time to pursue acting. At the time, the pals were struggling to find jobs, so their nights out consisted of hitting up The Standard Hotel on Sunset Boulevard, a celebrity hotspot, to play ping pong and share a cocktail because they couldn’t afford more.

Now Jamie and Andrew have a respective net worth of $14 million and $16 million. Unlimited cocktails forever.

Related Topics

MORE CELEBRITY STORIES