Aaron Sorkin Reveals He Had Stroke, Doctor Said He's "Supposed to Be Dead"

By Spencer Perry

Academy Award-winning screenwriter Aaron Sorkin has confirmed a major health scare that occurred last year. Speaking with The New York Times about the staging of his new revival of the musical Camelot, Sorkin revealed that he had a stroke in 2022. Ahead of rehearsals for the show last November, Sorkin revealed he "woke in the middle of the night and noticed that...he was crashing into walls and corners" and the next morning was unable to stop himself from spilling juice. After calling his doctor and coming in to be examined, Sorkin's doctor told him "You're supposed to be dead."

"Mostly it was a loud wake-up call," Sorkin told the outlet. "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 added, "If it'll get one person to stop smoking, then it'll be helpful." Sorkin went on to say that after suffering the stroke he wasn't sure if he would "be able to write again." Sorkin concluded his talk of his condition by adding. " "Let me make this very, very clear. I'm fine. I wouldn't want anyone to think I can't work. I'm fine."

Sorkin has been nominated for four Academy Awards in the past, winning once. His nominations include The Social Network (for which he won), Moneyball, Molly's Game, and The Trial of the Chicago 7. He previously won five Primetime Emmy awards for his work on fan-favorite drama The West Wing. His most recent feature film as a writer and director was 2021's Being the Ricardos, a biopic of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz and the making of I Love Lucy. 

Despite his prolific work as a writer, one thing that frequently comes up for Sorkin is the potential for a sequel to The Social Network. The feature film, directed by David Fincher, was released over ten years ago and in the time since Facebook has grown even bigger and more powerful. In a previous interview even Sorkin said there could be a sequel.

"I think so. I've been speaking with Frances Haugen, the Facebook whistleblower," he told The Guardian. "When she says to me, 'Aaron, this is what an insurrection looks like when you have $130bn,' that's interesting to me. I very much doubt that I or anyone else is going to write a sequel to The Social Network, but I will say that there is a story there."

(Cover Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic) 

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