'30 Rock's' Grizz Chapman on Kidney Transplant: 'I Didn't Want to Die'

[Brian Damage]

Three months after receiving a new kidney, Grizz Chapman, who plays Tracy Morgan's sidekick on NBC's 30 Rock, continues to heal – and feels grateful to have a "chance at life."

"When you go through something like, you learn to appreciate little things – the birds, trees, flowers," the actor, 36, tells PEOPLE at a restaurant across from the actual 30 Rockefeller Center. "I pay attention to everything now – the taste of bread, the taste of water. It all feels different now."

After suffering with hypertension for 13 years, the 7-ft.-tall celebrity-bodyguard-turned-actor experienced kidney failure in 2008. Undergoing dialysis three times a week, Chapman – who once weighed 505 lbs. – reduced his food intake, cut out cheese and mayonnaise and started walking to shed the necessary 160 lbs. to be eligible for a kidney transplant.

http://www.people.com/people/news/0,,,00.html