Rafael Amaya, the star of Telemundo’s show “El Señor De Los Cielos” was rushed to a hospital in México City on Oct. 27 for a drug overdose.
According to reports from the Latin Post and Latin Times, Amaya was taken to Hospital Español at approximately 4 a.m. and was being treated for symptoms of tachycardia (i.e., a fast heart rate) and drug intoxication.
He was rushed to the intensive care unit in a restricted area of the hospital, but within a few hours he was recovering successfully from the treatments.
The 38-year-old actor, who plays drug lord Aurelio Casillas on the Spanish-language TV channel has reportedly been struggling to adjust to his widespread fame from “El Señor De Los Cielos.”
Although there hasn’t been any confirmation from those close to Amaya that his struggles on-set have been related to drug abuse, it’s easy to speculate that the two may be connected. It’s estimated that around 25 million people live with a substance abuse problem, and drug or alcohol abuse is often triggered by the stresses of celebrity fame.
Telemundo issued a statement shortly after Amaya’s hospitalization, saying that it wouldn’t “make comments on rumors about the personal life of our employees or actors,” but that the actor would continue filming the fourth season of “El Señor De Los Cielos” as soon as he is able.
“After being out last week, we are happy to know that Rafael is fine and took some well deserved vacation days after 11 months of filming non-stop,” the statement read. “The production of Season 4 of ‘El Señor De Los Cielos’ is almost done and will continue as it was originally [planned]. This series has been a hit and a big part of that is due to Rafael’s hard work and dedication. He is a great profession [sic] and a dear member of the Telemundo family.”
Two after his hospitalization, Amaya released his own statement via Twitter: “Regresando de la muerte” (which roughly translates to “Coming back from the dead.”)