Samuel L. Jackson reveals shocking near-death experience in New York
Samuel L. Jackson came close to death over 30 years ago.
While appearing on Tuesday's episode of Paloma Faith's 'Mad Sad Bad' podcast, the 76-year-old actor recalled the time he 'got dragged by a subway train in New York' and nearly died.
'I was in the middle door of the last car, and it was a long-ass train station,' Jackson explained. 'And when the door closed on my foot, [the] train took off. So I'm sitting there thinking, I'm like, 'Oh, f‑‑‑, I'm going to die.''
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6 Samuel L. Jackson on Paloma Faith's podcast.
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'I could see the tunnel coming,' Jackson continued, '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.'
But the train 'just slowed down really, really slow,' the 'Pulp Fiction' star said, adding, 'until all of a sudden the train stopped.'
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6 Samuel L. Jackson during Video Software Dealers Association Convention in Las Vegas in 1993.
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Jackson previously told Vanity Fair that the incident happened in December 1988. He explained that he stopped to help a woman who dropped something when the subway doors closed on his ankle, causing him to be dragged on the platform as the train accelerated.
Jackson tore his ACL and meniscus, which led to him spending 10 months on crutches and over a year in physical rehab. He won $540,000 after suing the New York Transit Authority.
On the podcast, Jackson said that he found out who saved his life while he was in court two years after the incident.
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6 Samuel L. Jackson at the 'Othello' opening night in New York on March 23, 2025.
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6 Samuel L. Jackson leaving 'The View' in NYC on March 27, 2025.
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'The guy who pulled the emergency cord was on crutches,' he shared. '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.'
The 'Avengers' actor recalled that when he was being dragged by the subway 'all I could think of was, it was going to be a really sad Christmas, because it was like a few days before Christmas.'
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6 Samuel L. Jackson with his wife, LaTanya Richardson Jackson.
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'So I was going to miss my birthday and all that,' he said. 'I was like, 'Damn, it's gonna be f‑‑‑ed up. It's gonna be a f‑‑‑ed up Christmas this year.''
Jackson added of the near-death experience, 'That whole thing about your life passing before you, it's like, 'Eh, not really.' Everything does slow down, though.'
6 Samuel L. Jackson at the 'Wine in the Wilderness' opening night in New York in March 2025.
Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock
'Things slow down when you're looking at death,' he continued. '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.'
When asked if the incident made him 'existential,' Jackson responded, 'F‑‑k no, I'm Black.'
'I got my own problems, you know. Just being,' he went on. 'I grew up in segregation, so I've been, you know, dealing with, you know, existential bulls—t my whole life.'
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