Samuel L. Jackson Reveals He Was Nearly Killed by a New York Subway Train

Long before he was a Hollywood legend, Samuel L. Jackson had a terrifying brush with death that left him with lasting injuries — and a wild story to tell.

The 76-year-old actor opened up on the Mad Sad Bad podcast with Paloma Faith about a near-fatal accident back in 1988 when he was dragged by a moving New York subway train.

“I got dragged by the A train,” Jackson said, recounting how his foot got stuck in the door of the last car at a long subway platform. “The door closed on my foot, and the train took off… I’m sitting there thinking, ‘Oh, f—, I’m going to die.’”

As the train picked up speed, Jackson realized he had no way to free himself or brace for impact as the tunnel loomed closer.

“I could see the tunnel coming. I couldn’t figure out anything I could grab. It was like, ‘This is it.’”

A fellow passenger with crutches sprang into action, rushing to stop the train. Thankfully, the conductor managed to slow down just in time.

“It just slowed down really, really slow… until all of a sudden the train stopped,” Jackson recalled.

The Pulp Fiction and Unbreakable star said the experience gave him a strange sense of clarity. “Things slow down when you’re looking at death. I’ve been in car accidents too, and if I see them coming, it’s like everything slows down.”

He said one of the strangest thoughts he had while being dragged was about how his family would spend the holidays without him. “It was like a few days before Christmas, and I thought, ‘Damn, it’s gonna be a f—ed up Christmas this year.’”

The aftermath of the accident was just as intense. Jackson tore his ACL completely, partially tore his meniscus, and suffered extensive cartilage damage. He needed knee surgery, spent 10 months on crutches, and over a year in physical therapy. To this day, he still has screws in his right leg.

The story has resurfaced just as Jackson went viral for his eye-roll after losing at this year’s Tony Awards — proof that even decades later, the man still knows how to steal the spotlight.