"Everything does slow down, though" - Samuel L. Jackson recounts near-death experience of 'being dragged by a subway train'

Samuel L. Jackson, 76, spoke about his terrifying near-death experience from December 1988. That day, a New York City subway train dragged him, which could have led to a tragic and worse.

In his recent appearance on Paloma Faith's Mad Sad Bad podcast, he recounted the distressing accident, sharing:

"I got dragged by a subway train in New York… I got dragged by the A train. I was in the middle door of the last car, and it was a long-*ss train station. And when the door closed on my foot, [the] train took off. So I'm sitting there thinking, I'm like, 'Oh, f**k, I'm going to die."

Reflecting on how "everything does slow down, though," he added:

"That whole thing about your life passing before you, it's like, 'Eh, not really.'"

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Samuel L. Jackson opened up about his decades-old near-death experience

Remembering how he felt while getting trapped in the train doors and being dragged, Samuel L. Jackson stated that he noticed the platform and the tunnel rushing close to him, Entertainment Weekly reported.

Recounting that exact moment, Samuel elaborated:

"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."

The situation did not escalate further after someone travelling on that subway train spotted him in that harrowing condition. That individual saved Jackson from a tragic accident.

Samuel L. Jackson revealed during the podcast:

"It just slowed down really, really slow until all of a sudden the train stopped."

He came to know the person who saved his life from the train while he was in court. The Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith star also said:

"The guy who pulled the emergency cord was on crutches. 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 looked back on how he felt during that time and explained that:

"Things slow down when you're looking at death."

Sharing further about his accidents, he explained:

"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."

In response to the host's question whether Samuel was scared in that condition, the actor described:

"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. So I was going to miss my birthday and all that. I was like, 'Damn, it's gonna be f**ked up. It's gonna be a f**ked up Christmas this year.'"

Listening to his response, Paloma asked:

"Does it make you existential?"

The Pulp Fiction star did not understand what Faith meant with her question. He replied, asking:

"What the hell is that?"

She later explained, adding:

"Like, when you sort of think about existence, like: What does it mean to be here? And what was I taught by this experience?"

Samuel's responses and opinions were quite direct. He stated:

"F**k no, I'm Black. I got my own problems, you know. Just being. I grew up in segregation, so I've been, you know, dealing with, you know, existential bulls‑‑‑ my whole life."

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