It’s been almost a year since Kevin Hart survived a life-threatening car accident in California that left him with major back injuries. While Hart is back on his feet and working again in the months after the accident, it’s an experience that has left a mark on the entertainer. Now, the Jumanji: The Next Level star is opening up about the experience, telling Joe Rogan that the accident changed how he sees life and that there are “no bad days” for him now as a result.
In a recent appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast (via Yahoo), Hart revealed that he had a “near death” experience because of the accident and it’s made him value life so much more now that he’s survived and recovered.
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“I saw that light,” Hart explained. “When you come close to that light — and the light that I’m talking about is death — when you come close to that light… and if you are fortunate enough to come back from that light, you value life differently. There are no bad days for me. There are no bad days for me.”
Hart was a passenger in his 1970 Plymouth Barracuda that went off Mulholland Highway in California’s Malibu Hills in the early morning hours of September 1, 2019. The accident left Hart with a serious back injury that required surgery that the actor says left him with eight screws holding his spine together and that it could have been much worse if it weren’t for his physical shape at the time of the accident.
“The work that I put into my core and my upper body over the years are what saved me, outside of God of course,” Hart said. “The health and wellness s—t is so much bigger than what you think it is… you don’t know when all that stuff comes into play.
Hart continued, “My healing was a lot faster because of the years of work I put into it before. Now, if I didn’t have that core I’d be paralyzed. I’d be f—ing paralyzed.”
That level of injury is one that sounds like it would be incredibly painful, something that Hart confirmed, but he also revealed that he lied to his doctors about his pain because he wanted to get on with his recovery process as soon as possible.
“I lied in the hospital because I didn’t want them to know what I was having pain because I thought they would stop me from letting me try my walks,” Hart said.
He also outlined that he stopped using his walker after just a couple of weeks and also refused pain medication, describing the experience as “every night was a horrible night.”
Hart’s comments to Rogan are very similar to comments he made soon after the accident last fall, in which he noted that the experience had left him grateful to be alive and with a whole new perspective for being alive.
“I see life from a whole new perspective. My appreciation for life is through the roof,” Hart wrote last year. “I’m thankful for my family, for my friends. I’m thankful for the people that simply ride with me and that have been with me because you stood by me. My fans, thankful for all of your love and support. So, don’t take today for granted because tomorrow is not a promise. More importantly, I’m thankful for God. I’m thankful for life. I’m thankful for simply being here, on the road to being a bigger and better me. Looking forward to an amazing 2020.”
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