Ashton Kutcher ‘Lucky to Be Alive’ After Battling Rare Autoimmune Disorder

Ashton Kutcher is “lucky to be alive” after battling a rare autoimmune disorder that affected his vision and hearing. The Ranch actor, 44, first shared his diagnosis publicly in a sneak peek of his upcoming episode of Running Wild with Bear Grylls published by Access Hollywood Monday, revealing how his health scare shifted his perspective on life. 

“Like two years ago, I had this weird, super rare form of vasculitis, that like knocked out my vision, it knocked out my hearing, it knocked out like all my equilibrium,” he told host Bear Grylls of the rare autoimmune disorder that can cause inflammation of the blood vessels, leading to potential organ and tissue damage. “It took me like a year to build it all back up.”

The That ’70s Show star, who shares kids Wyatt, 7, and Dimitri, 5, with wife Mila Kunis, continued, “You don’t really appreciate it until it’s gone. Until you go, ‘I don’t know if I’m ever going to be able to see again, I don’t know if I’m ever going to be able to hear again, I don’t know if I’m ever going to be able to walk again.’”

Going through this health battle gave Kutcher a new way of looking at things. “The minute you start seeing your obstacles as things that are made for you, to give you what you need, then life starts to get fun, right?” he said. “You start surfing on top of your problems instead of living underneath them.” Grylls agreed, “What do they say in survival? Storms make you stronger. And I think he’s living proof of that.”

Kutcher previously suffered from severe pancreatitis after drinking “too much carrot juice” while preparing to play Steve Jobs for the 2013 film Jobs. “First of all, the fruitarian diet can lead to like severe issues,” the actor said at a screening of the film at the time. “My pancreas levels were completely out of whack,” he continued. “It was really terrifying … considering everything.”

Kunis later confirmed her husband’s health scare, revealing on an October 2021 episode of Hot Ones that Kutcher had been hospitalized twice because of his odd film preparation diet. “He was so dumb. He only ate grapes at one point, it was so stupid,” she said at the time. “We ended up in the hospital twice with pancreatitis!” Kutcher’s episode of Running Wild with Bear Grylls airs Aug. 8 on National Geographic.