Samuel L Jackson has opened up about being “dragged” by a subway train when he was younger.
The Django Unchained star, 76, thought he was “going to die” when his foot got caught in the train door at a New York station and the train “took off”.
He shared the heartbreaking thoughts that raced through his mind as frantic passengers on the train tried to save him.
“That whole thing about your life passing before you, it’s like, ‘Eh, not really.’ Everything does slow down, though,” the Pulp Fiction star said on Paloma Faith’s Mad, Sad & Bad podcast.
“I got dragged by a subway train in New York in 1990. I got dragged by the A train. Fortunately, I was in the middle door of the last car, and it was a long-ass train station.
“When the door closed on my foot, train took off. I’m sitting there thinking, ‘Oh, f**k, I’m going to die.’”
Jackson went on: “I could see the tunnel coming, and I couldn’t figure out anything that I could grab or hold on to and get close to the train so I wouldn’t get killed in the tunnel.
“It just slowed down - really, really slow - until all of a sudden the train stopped.”
The Marvel star admitted he was worried about ruining Christmas for his family, including wife LaTanya Richardson and their daughter, Zoe, during that moment.
“When I was being dragged, all I could think of was, it was going to be a really sad Christmas, because it was like a few days before Christmas,” he said.
“So I was going to miss my birthday and all that. I was like, ‘Damn, it’s going to be f**ked up. It’s going to be a f**ked up Christmas this year.’”
The Hateful Eight star was severely injured during the incident, tearing his ACL, a key ligament in the knee joint, and meniscus, a cartilage in the knee.
He had physical therapy for over a year and spent 10 months on crutches. The acting legend later sued the transit system and was awarded $540,000.
It was only during the court hearing that he learned exactly what happened on the train - that a passenger saved his life by pressing the emergency cord.
“I was a car-and-a-half from the tunnel when it stopped. The guy who pulled the emergency cord was on crutches,” Jackson explained.
“Everybody else in there was trying to open the door, get my foot out the door, push and push and pull and try and take my shoe off. And he was going to the emergency cord, and he finally pulled it and stopped it.”
He added: “Things slow down when you’re looking at death. I’ve been in car accidents and if I see them, it’s almost like everything is slowing down and you know there’s nothing you can do to get out of the way.”
