Bryan Cranston says he still can't fully taste and smell after having COVID-19

Bryan Cranston says he still hasn't fully regained his sense of taste and smell after having COVID-19 earlier this year.

Credit: Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Vittorio/Getty Images

Bryan Cranston is still living with some effects of COVID-19 after contracting the virus earlier this year.

Appearing on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Friday, the Your Honor star discussed his experience with the virus, explaining that he and his wife got sick "early on" after the pandemic hit the U.S. "We didn't want to miss out," Cranston quipped. "So we made sure that we got it early on....She got it first, she gave it to me, 'cause we share."

"We were very lucky, though, in all seriousness," he continued. "We had a few days of achiness, but not enough to keep you in bed. I had a temperature of 99 for about three hours, and then just exhaustion for a week."

Still, Cranston added, he still hasn't regained his full sense of taste and smell, which many have noted as a persistent aftereffect of the virus.

"The only thing that lingered, and still is to this day, is that I lost a percentage of my ability to taste and smell," the Breaking Bad star said. "I think about 75 percent has come back, but if someone was brewing coffee and I walk into a kitchen, I cannot smell it."

Cranston first revealed he battled COVID in July, announcing in an Instagram post that he was donating plasma for scientific research. "About now you're probably feeling a little tied down, restricting your mobility and like me, you're tired of this," he wrote in the post. "Well, I just want to encourage you to have a little more patience. I was pretty strict in adhering to the protocols and still… I contracted the virus."

"I count my blessings and urge you to keep wearing the damn mask, keep washing your hands, and stay socially distant," he added. "We can prevail - but ONLY if we follow the rules together."

Cranston is returning to TV in his first leading role since Breaking Bad with Showtime's Your Honor, a 10-episode limited series debuting Friday.

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This story originally appeared on: EW - Author:Tyler Aquilina