Samuel L. Jackson is one of Hollywood's favorite actors. From his thousands of hair changes in various movies to his favorite curse word heard in many of his films (motherf#@%&*$), Sam is known for giving his all in each and every one of his roles. As a matter of fact, Samuel L. Jackson is ranked as the highest all-time box office star with over $28 billion total box office gross, an average of $70.3 million per film. So when wasn't feeling well and not able to give his best, he knew something was wrong.
He's faced demons both on screen and in real life, challenges and none of that scared him. When faced with challenges, he would adapt like he normally does. During childhood, Sam had a stuttering problem. While he eventually learned to "pretend to be other people who didn't stutter" and use the curse word, "motherfucker" as an affirmation word, he learned to leave his stuttering days behind him.
On His Near-Death Experience
But when he found out it was a life-threatening blood clot near his heart, that was the scariest thing he ever had to battle with.
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Finally, after going to the doctor, the 75-year-old Pulp Fiction and Marvel movie star became the unlikely poster boy for being a vegan. He claims that adopting a no-meat, no-dairy lifestyle has literally transformed his health.
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Often times when people switch up their diet, they are trying to lose weight and improve their overall health. This may include eating less bread or cutting out soda, but a vegan diet is one that many celebs have been praising because of its many health benefits. Jackson shared his thoughts on veganism and why he made such a drastic change in his diet.
“Because I was losing weight, people thought I was dying. They feared I had cancer, but I was just on a hardcore vegan regime,’ says the star. ‘My doctor said it was my greatest chance of staying alive – and it worked,” Jackson reportedly said.
“I lost weight, lowered my blood pressure, lowered my cholesterol levels and my body mass index. But I’m lucky. I’m forced to get a full medical before every film otherwise I can’t get insurance. The average man doesn’t have that luxury, so it’s important they stay vigilant.”
On His Cancer Fight
Sam just isn't worried about his own health. He's worried about the health of all men so much that he put his money where his mouth is by being the front man for One For The Boys, a charity that promotes prostate health and fights prostate cancer.
"Men seem to pay attention to me for some reason. So I got involved with One For The Boys because I thought it was a worthwhile cause to lend that voice. When it comes to cancer, the world is way more pink than blue. Conversations immediately focus on the women’s issues: breast cancer, ovarian cancer, all of those things. But that’s because women deal with it. We’ve been raised in this macho culture where men are strong and resilient and silent.
"We tend to talk about injuries rather than illnesses. It’s kind of sad. Guys will happily go for a physical to check their weight or their blood, but they don’t talk about a strange feeling they have in their groin because they tell themselves it’ll blow away or it’ll pass. Before you know it they’ve waited too long and it’s too late.
"I don’t preach to people about how they should use their bodies when they’re young. Or what their choice of, let’s say, recreational activities should be. Because you know, I had a really good time for a long time. [Jackson had serious drug addictions in the 1980s.] But even though I was working, and I was active, I was abusing myself. I didn’t know anything about my biological history, about the addictive personalities and...
...alcoholism in my family. I just say: live your life, but have some understanding about who you are and where you come from. Watch the tendencies, notice the patterns, and if they’re bad, change it.
"I don’t think it’s a case of underestimating prostate cancer. It’s just that when you hear the word you equate it with death. But what we do underestimate is the fact that we’ve come a long way in terms of cancer research and that there are things that can be done. I’ve had things that I thought were just minor pains, which turned out to be something else that was caught in time. It only takes a minute to get to that place where you aren’t scared anymore and you either get angry or you get determined to sort it out. You need to look around you, figure out the worth of your life and how you want to live the rest of your life. The sooner you can figure that out, the better off you’re going to be."
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