Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart have become close friends over the years, and the two got candid about Hart’s recent car crash in a new interview with Kevin McCarthy, who asked Johnson how it felt to be at the interview with Hart.
“His situation could’ve gone another way. He knows that, we know that,” Johnson replied. “When I heard the news, my heart stopped and I lost my breath.”
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“Kevin’s one of the good ones, he’s a good egg,” he continued. “So, I’m really proud of not only his ability to overcome, but we’re here, we’re in Cabo, we made Jumanji. Life is good. I’m happy that he’s here.”
The former WWE star added: “The beauty of our relationship is, we hugged, we had real strong conversation when he finally came back, face to face, about what this meant and how it has changed him. It’s almost as if life and the universe takes this shade and lifts it from your eyes and you view the world a different way. It was really beautiful.”
“To hear him talk like that, I was like, ‘Man, you are so, same guy but a different guy now, empowered with a different kind of spirit.’ And then 20 minutes later we’re giving each other s—,” he joked.
Earlier in the interview, Hart had discussed how his priorities have shifted since his accident in regard to work and family.
“It’s unreal that you would ask that…the answer is so spot on what you’re saying,” he told McCarthy. “It’s not about not working the same or not having the same level of hustle or energy within my profession, but being present to the ones around you that matter most is more of a priority now.”
“The level of appreciation for life is extremely higher, because you do kind of take it for granted. You do bypass the fact that things don’t have to be the way they are and that they could change like that,” he continued. “So when you have an experience that shows you that, you understand what that is and what it was and you make sure that you make the matters of being present matter most. That’s the new version of myself that I’m happy about.”
In early September, Hart was involved in a car crash that sent him to the hospital with spinal fractures and reportedly required him to undergo surgery to fuse two fractures in his spine. He was hospitalized for 10 days before being released to undergo physical therapy and is expected to make a full recovery and return to work fully in the new year.
Photo Credit: Getty / picture alliance
